A SLOW RIDE TO ANARCHY
by Tribeca
Summary: The gang of seven take a vacation together and Sheldon discovers the hippie lifestyle may not be so bad after all. *complete*
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: My hope for this story is that you will find it to be a light, sexy, fun read. I have written it as if writing _to_ a friend _about_ my friends. I want it to have a certain ambiance of love and belonging. I want the reader to feel as if they just opened an email from me and are reading a story that I would write to a friend… laid back, slang filled, warm and comfortable…nothing too serious or too intense. With the sad state of our Shennyverse hanging by a thread, I wanted to give you a fic that will hopefully make you smile. This is exactly what I think a story of fiction should be-_an escape from reality_. **

**This fic consists of fifteen chapters. I've worked on it for the past couple of months. It is already completely written, I just have to go back and polish each chapter so that it is aesthetically pleasing for your lovely eyes. I plan to post an update every couple of days. It is starting as T but will probably move over to M around chapter three, depending on how I decide to edit it.**

**Please enjoy this and if you like it please leave a review. Good reviews make up for the long hours/weeks/months that we writers put into our fics for the enjoyment of the fandom. If you don't like it, that's fine too, just move on, no need to be mean. I don't get paid for this, you know. To my faithful, loyal readers who have kindly stuck with me through all my other fics, I can't begin to tell you how much you all mean to me. On my worst of days, when I see a notification that you've left a sweet review, your words lift me up in ways you'll never know. So thanks for that!**

A SLOW RIDE TO ANARCHY

_anarchy - a state of lawlessness and disorder_

ONE

~The Vacation Plan~

It was wintertime and while the air was a bit cooler than say, June or July, the temperature in Pasadena still allowed for short sleeves and short pants. California, at least the part of California they resided in, hardly was known for well defined seasons. The weather was nice, sunny, and mostly warm year round. The seven of them had agreed one February evening as they sat around with their Thai food and video games at the ready that a getaway, an autumn getaway to be precise, was in order. A group vacation if you will. And so the decision had been made that come October, the fall of the year, they would travel together to cooler climates and a much needed change of scenery.

As to be expected, it had taken almost two months for them to come to a mutually agreed upon destination. Meaning Sheldon had shot down every suggested location until finally after doing extensive internet research, he had chosen Asheville, North Carolina. It was a small town located in the heart of the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains that was known for perfect leaf color change viewing, had historical elements and offered prime lodging and dining options. He insisted it would be ideal for what they sought. There was the enticing element of "southern charm" (he hoped it would be better than the southern charm served up Texas style that he had known as a child). But more importantly, it would provide for him an opportunity to fulfill a lifelong dream. He could take a train from coast to coast, from sea to shining sea. Okay, technically Asheville was not on the coast of North Carolina, but still, it was close enough for him. He had already checked the schedule, mapped out the route and called train officials to inquire of the cleanliness of their facilities.

Sheldon had refused to book an airline insisting upon the cross country train ride. The other six had been adamant in their arguments that first, it would take way too much travel time, second, it cost twice as much, and third and most important, it would be boring as hell. They had taken a vote; it was six to one with Sheldon being the lone train ballot caster. And it was settled. They would take…_the train_.

The girls, Penny, Amy and Bernadette, had expressed their disappointment in the boys for succumbing to Sheldon's crazy train quirk but Leonard had tired to explain that they would have a much better time upon arrival if they just took the damn train instead of having to listen to Sheldon bitch about the possible pathogens from recycled air that he may have breathed in on the plane, not to mention the way high altitudes made Sheldon's ears buzz. Nope, Leonard didn't want to deal with that, so train it was.

Most everyone except Raj was dreading the slow assed train. It was going to take four days to get there by train. Penny had even googled flights and wanted to throttle Sheldon when she discovered that they could fly there in four hours. Yep, the planned trip was off to a tense start already and they weren't scheduled to leave for months. It was only April and already they were engaged in battle.

Thank God that Leonard and Howard (with Raj going along with them because, you know, peer pressure and all that) finally listened to Penny and Bernadette (and Amy, only she didn't want Sheldon to know she sided with them) and told Sheldon if he wanted to waste four days of time on travel while flying would only require four hours, then so be it. He was on his own. Everyone else would fly, he would be the solo train traveler and they would all meet up in North Carolina.

Sheldon was agreeable with this arrangement. He enjoyed his own company just fine. He was a little disappointed that he wouldn't be able to share the journey with Amy (and Penny, but he kept that to himself) but he was content in knowing that it would be one more item he could check off his Must Do Before I Die list (he hated the term bucket list and refused to use it). Yet again, logic had eluded the others, as they just didn't grasp the concept that the journey was equally as important as the destination.

When they had finalized their plans in May, sent all their deposits off, everything had been great. Bernadette and Howard were together, Leonard and Penny were together, Sheldon and Amy were (mostly) together (okay, they were boyfriend/girlfriend as opposed to her being his friend who was a girl but not his girlfriend). And then, well, Raj was just everyone's friend.

By the time the calendar was flipped to October however, Leonard and Penny had broken up because, well really, who the hell purposes marriage during sex? Damn him. And though Penny would never admit it aloud (although she almost did let it slip to Sheldon that one night she made him watch The Notebook in her apartment), she was glad it had happened. It was the perfect excuse for her to break up with Leonard. She loved him, sure. But she had absolutely no doubt that she was not _in love_ with him. Never would be. The love she felt for Leonard would never be more than the love she felt for any of the other friends she had. She loved Leonard in the same way she loved Amy or Raj or Bernadette. Or Howard. (She couldn't put Sheldon in this category because, well, she loved him in a different way. She just had never been able to define it. Never tried to define it. Was scared as hell to define it.)

Also, there was the whole dealio with Sheldon and Amy. They too had terminated their Relationship Agreement and she was back to her original status of being his friend who was a girl but not his girlfriend. No one really knew what the hell was up with those two. All that was known for certain was that Amy wanted sex, wanted sex really badly and Sheldon

Was.

Not.

Interested.

At.

All.

Was that clear enough? He certainly hoped so. He was tired of discussing it.

They had all tried to talk to him about it on Amy's behalf. Penny had tried the least. She didn't know why. She was Amy's friend and really wanted her "Bestie" to be happy, but she didn't want Sheldon to be unhappy. And if having sex with Amy was not something he desired and could potentially cause him to be unhappy, she just couldn't join in with the others and pressure him to do something he was so obviously opposed to. Besides, the rest of them (all except Sheldon) had tried to pressure her into loving and agreeing to marry Leonard. So, yeah, she knew where Sheldon was coming from. No one should be pressured to like another person just because it was what their friends wanted. No one.

**~73~**

He knocked and she waited just as she had always done. It was a minor thing really, something she could do for her friend that didn't cost her anything except a few extra seconds of her time. Besides, he was the butt so many jokes she figured she could just let him have this one thing. Knock, call her name, three times…she had gotten so comfortable with it she thought that if he ever stopped it she would miss it terribly.

"Hello Penny."

"Hey Sheldon, come on in. What's up?"

She was surprised when he settled in on her sofa. Usually he took his self designated spot in the chair across from the couch. She figured it was his effort to put as much space between them as possible. God help anyone get too close and invade his personal space.

She cautiously took a seat on the sofa, taking extra care to stay as far on the other side as possible. She wondered if he was upset. Amy had called her the night before and told her that it was now completely over between her and Sheldon. She had finally had enough of taking one step forward and two steps back with him. She still cared for him as a friend but she in no way could wait for him to "treat her like a woman needs to be treated."

He remained silent for awhile, watching the television, although she had an episode of Dance Moms on and she knew without a doubt he had absolutely no interest in that at all. He had told her as much on numerous occasions. She sighed, watching him watching the television, his hands fidgeting in his lap, his eyes cutting towards her when he thought she wasn't looking.

She reached and turned the tv off and then turned her body to face him.

"Do you need to talk sweetie?"

He turned and looked at her, studied her face, dropped his eyes to his lap, tried to control the muscles that threatened to twitch his face into oblivion. He took a deep breath and then raised his gaze up to meet hers.

"It is my understanding that you and Leonard have terminated your romantic relationship. Is this correct?"

She shifted uncomfortably and said yes.

"I thought I would let you know that Amy and I have terminated our relationship agreement as well."

"I know Sheldon. Amy called me last night. I'm so sorry. I know breakups can be painful."

"But I don't feel any pain Penny. Do you?"

"No," she confessed, but only because he was her best friend and it was the kind of thing one could only tell their best friend.

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair, keeping his eyes locked on her.

"What do you feel, Sheldon?" she pried.

"Relief," he said honestly.

"I understand. I kind of feel the same way."

"About Amy and me or about Leonard and you?"

She laughed and wondered just how honest she should be with him. She had always suppressed her feelings, her true feelings, towards him.

"Both," she heard fly out of her mouth before she could stop herself.

"So, would it be correct of me to assume that this could possibly mean that you and I are free to explore our latent feelings towards one another?"

"What?" Her heart thumped in her chest and she worried that maybe she wasn't exactly sure what the word 'latent' meant.

He cleared his throat and spoke softly, "Is there an appropriate amount of time one should wait after a break up before he seeks the romantic company of another?"

"Sheldon, what exactly are you saying?"

"I'm saying, Penny, that I am interested in exploring a relationship with you. I mean, if you are interested also. I just don't know the proper protocol. I don't want to hurt Amy's feelings, as you are her friend. Also because she cried when we terminated our agreement."

"Sheldon, how do you…do you think that I…"

"Penny, I am an intelligent man. I am well read and I have been trained to observe everything around me. It has been my observation that you may quiet possibly feel attracted to me," he paused, she held her breath, and then he continued, "just as I am to you."

Penny's first instinct was to pounce on him. Just close the distance between the two of them, jump in his lap and kiss the hell out of him. But she knew that would possibly scare him to death. And if God or the universe or whatever was finally going to give her a chance with Sheldon Lee Cooper, she was sure as hell not going to blow it by freaking him out the first time he hints that he may have feelings for her.

"I see."

"Do you?" he asked, raising his eyebrows, challenging her words.

She lowered her head and let out a deep breath.

"This is totally unexpected, Sheldon."

She felt the cushions on the sofa shift and then felt the warmth of his body next to hers. She lifted her head in time to see him bringing his palm towards her face. She noted that his hand trembled and he paused inches from her face.

"Is it acceptable that I touch you Penny?"

"Yes," she whispered, becoming aware of the fact that her own body trembled as well. It occurred to her that she'd never trembled with or for another man in her life.

He lightly traced his fingers across her face and then allowed them to slowly make their way to tangle in her hair. He held her gaze and she wondered what his reaction would be if she reached and did the same to him, to his sweet innocent face. His mother's words echoed in her mind, 'He's like a baby deer. You have to let him come to you.' It was those words that had caused Penny to bury her feelings for him all these years. 'Let him come to you.'

And now he had.

"Can I touch you Sheldon? I mean, on your face just like you are doing to me?"

He nodded to the affirmative and she gently lifted her hand to his face.

"You're pretty," he whispered, and then added, "and I always meant to tell you."

She dared to softly trace her thumb across his bottom lip, holding her breath as she did so, worried it may just be too much for him.

To her amazement, he slipped his hand slightly downwards and imitated her actions, tracing his thumb across her bottom lip.

"I would very much like to kiss you Penny," he said, sounding more assertive than she ever would have given him credit for.

"Yes," she whispered, unable to say more.

He slipped his hand around to the back of her neck and pulled her towards him as he bent his body to meet her halfway. She dropped her hand from his face down to his arm and felt herself shudder when his lips brushed across hers. He allowed his tongue to go where his thumb had been just seconds earlier, tracing Penny's lower lip, then surprising her by pushing her lips apart and entering her mouth. She worked her lips around his, introducing her tongue to his and then forged a blazing path into his hungry mouth.

What had started out so sweet and pure was quickly becoming heated and desperate. She felt him pushing closer towards her, felt one hand on her side, the tips of his fingers tentatively meeting the skin just above the waistband of her pants. She didn't want to stop him, God knows she didn't want to stop herself either. But she knew guys well enough to know that if anyone was going to put the brakes on that it would have to be her. She relished the ecstasy for a bit longer, but when he shifted his body and pushed her further back on the sofa, and she felt his desire pressing against her thigh, she knew she had no choice but to stop him. _Baby deer my ass, thought Penny._

"Sheldon," she said into his mouth, pulling away as he attempted to pull her back in.

"Don't stop," he pleaded, "I've imagined this moment for years."

She planted the palm of her hand against his heaving chest and pushed gently against him.

"I don't want to," she breathed out, "but you were asking about an appropriate time to wait after a break up. This isn't it, sweetie."

He swallowed hard and pulled himself off of her and into an upright position.

"I'm sorry Penny. You are right. I let my passion for you get the best of me."

Was this really happening? His passion for her? God, where had this Sheldon been all that time she'd spent settling for Leonard?

"You don't have to apologize. It was nice."

He smiled and she wondered when and how he'd gained these skills and this particular confidence. He answered her question before she could even ask.

"Amy," he said quietly.

"What?"

"I think…well, I realized a few weeks ago…that the time I spent with Amy was…preparing me for you."

"Sheldon…don't…just…"

"I don't know what to do. I believe this is your area of expertise."

She sighed and reluctantly told him that now was not the time. Not the time at all. She needed time to think and so did he. Any actions the two of them were to take could change the entire dynamic of their social group. He agreed because while he had learned a lot from his relationship with Amy, he still really didn't know what the hell he was doing when it came to his situation with Penny. He would have to rely on her knowledge and experience in this area.

**~73~**

As the weeks and months began to pass Amy and Leonard both made failed attempts to resurrect their relationships with Sheldon and Penny. They were certain that choosing to not act on their 'latent' (Penny had looked the word up as soon as Sheldon left her apartment that night) feelings had been in everyone's best interest.

But they almost blew it at Howard and Bernadette's wedding reception.

The crowd was thinning out, the band had gotten past all the standard dance music everyone expected them to play, and the singer's voice had dropped to a raspy, whiskey soaked growl. The sax player was burning slow and hot and smoldering tunes. Penny and Sheldon had both danced their obligatory dances with Leonard and Amy. Howard and Bernadette had gone to change into their travel clothes for their honeymoon. And now Raj was asleep on the table because he drank too much booze, Leonard, after his advances towards Penny were all met with rejection, was hitting on some girl at the bar in the corner of the room and Amy was busy on her phone with the interns from her lab that were working with the monkeys.

Penny felt the tap on her shoulder, the one she knew would come eventually because Sheldon wasn't the kind to back down. And also because she knew she looked smoking hot in the red dress she had changed into after the wedding ceremony.

She looked up at him, him in his tuxedo with his tie loosened and the top buttons undone and the seductive look in his eyes. She wondered how he could be so innocent, so inexperienced in relationships, and still pull off this look. He didn't even have to try. That was the thing about Sheldon that got Penny the most. Without even trying, he just did this to her. She knew it before he did. _This thing. This thing between the two of them._

"Dance with me Penny."

He made absolutely sure that it didn't come out as a question.

She stood, throwing caution to the wind, put her hand in his and let him lead her to the dance floor. By now the band was going major old school with Larry Graham's One in a Million You and damn, who doesn't get lost in that song? They couldn't help themselves. He held her close, much too close, and thank God the lights were low and the dance floor was dark. He pulled her in tight as they swayed to the music and she sighed and inhaled his scent and wished like hell Leonard and Amy would get over it all ready so that she and Sheldon could act on their feelings. She was tired of being nice. And then she felt his lips softly and quickly brush across her shoulder before she could react, well, except she did sigh, because damit One in a Million You was playing and Sheldon was holding her and she was horny and it just felt right and she was tired of fighting.

He lifted his head and moved his mouth to her ear and issued an awkward apology. He followed his apology by whispering "I've got to be touching you" and she tightened her grip on him because she was quite sure her legs couldn't possibly hold her up after he said that to her.

Then they heard Howard clear his throat and ask if they needed him to get them a room.

"Oh Howard, you're back. I thought you and Bernadette were leaving for your honeymoon."

"Yeah, we changed clothes and wanted to stop in and tell everyone goodbye. Looks like I got back just in time, huh?"

Penny shoved Sheldon, probably harder than she meant to, and told Howard it was her fault, she had had too much to drink and Sheldon was just holding her up. Except the truth was she had only had one glass of wine the whole night.

Howard just nodded, Sheldon looked pissed but she wasn't sure if he was pissed at her or at Howard or at having to let her go. Sheldon, for Howard's benefit, complained about Penny drinking too much and instructed her not to touch him anymore because God only knew what bacteria she may infect him with.

Since the incident at the reception they had steered clear of being alone. But there was no doubt that the looks that passed between them, the words left unspoken, the fights that were started and the scathing lectures he directed at her were some weird kind of smoldering hot foreplay.

**~73~**

With the somewhat fragmentation of the group, the days leading up to their scheduled departure to the complete other side of the country was a little bit…awkward. When they had booked their flight all those months ago Penny and Leonard had reserved seats side by side. And now, there was no way she was going to sit by him and endure those sad puppy dog looks he was sure to give her the whole way there. No. Fucking. Way. Truth be told? She didn't even want to be on the same airplane with him. So none of them better dare suggest she just change seats with Amy or something.

She had actually considered not going. Just lying and saying her boss had changed his mind and wouldn't give her the two weeks off after all. Besides, she was tired of this thing, whatever it was, that was going on between her and Sheldon. He for the most part, was back to acting like his normal whack-a-doodle self. The only thing that still gave her hope was that he continued to halt any advances Amy made to reboot their relationship and he did seem to take particular notice when Leonard flirted with her.

She decided what the hell, she had earned it and she was going to go. Besides, she had already paid her nonrefundable portion of the cabin they were renting and besides that, why should she not get to go just because she and Leonard weren't a couple anymore? They were all still friends and honestly if she had to climb those stairs one more time, had to serve cheesecake one more time, had to watch her check engine light blinking in her face one more time, she was going to lose her mind. Nope, she needed a break and by God she was going to take her vacation as planned.

"Good afternoon, Penny," he stepped towards her, reaching to open his mailbox as she stood sorting through her bills and celebrity gossip magazines. Secretly it had really bugged her that he could just so easily revert back to their friendship status while she felt like she was on fire.

"Oh hey Sheldon," she smiled at him, studying his face, wondering if now would be the best time to ask this favor of him. And it was a huge favor because no matter how he felt towards her, he did love the freaking train and she'd never want to do anything to screw that ride up for him.

"Are you packed yet for our upcoming excursion? If I know you…and I do," he raised his eyebrows and looked down at her with condescension brushing across his face, "I feel quite sure you have piles of clothes, their last date of laundry questionable, scattered about your apartment and you've been tripping over your Hello Kitty suitcase for days now but not actually packed the first item of clothing in it yet."

She grinned because, well, he was right. How was it he knew her so well? And why did that fact alone make her incredibly happy?

"Oh Moon Pie you know me too well, don't cha?"

"_Oh, Penny_," sarcasm dripped from his words, "Don't call me Moon Pie."

"So," she said hesitantly, turning to look at him as they began to ascend the stairs to the forth floor, "I need a favor," she paused, then added, "from you."

She gave him her best pout and flipped her blonde locks over her shoulder. Of course she already knew none of her feminine wiles would work on him. They never had. (That she knew of. _He knew differently_.)

"A favor? Penny. I'm not into doling out favors to just anyone," he said sternly as they rounded the third floor.

She nudged him with her elbow, "I'm not just anyone Sheldon."

They stopped when they reached their floor and he nervously looked around, waited until she unlocked her door and then hesitantly trailed in after her, closing the door behind them.

"What do you need Penny?"

He surveyed her apartment and rolled his eyes when he discovered that as he predicted, her Hello Kitty suitcase rested in the doorway between her living room and bedroom. Her eyes followed his and she quickly stepped towards it and tried to nonchalantly kick it into her bedroom.

"I've already taken note of it Penny," he sighed.

"So," she ignored him, "you know how…_uncomfortable_…things are between me and Leonard right now, right?"

He cleared his throat, "Yes, I am aware." He chose not to correct her grammar.

"Well, you know when we booked our flight to North Carolina we booked seats beside each other. And now, well, I just don't want to have to sit beside of him for that long all the way there. So," she paused, ran her hand across her face, then rushed her remaining words out in one breath, "could I ride the train with you? Please?"

Somewhere in his life he must have done something good. Thank you Jesus. Ride the train with Penny? Two of his favorite things in the world. Trains and Penny. _Oh. God._

"What do you mean? Ride the train with me?" He had to make the effort, the effort he always made, to appear to be aggravated with her attempts to invade his space. He faked exasperation and tried to hide exhilaration.

"Well," she flopped down on her sofa and motioned him over, "I just thought about it, and I looked it up online and I think taking a train would be…fun." _With you_. But she didn't say that last part out loud.

"Penny, I booked my Superliner room months ago. We are leaving in less than a week. I don't know if there are any more vacancies."

She rolled her eyes and sighed at his sweet innocence.

"But, doesn't your room have two beds in it? I could, you know, sleep in one of them. Come on Sheldon, it'll be fun."

His eyes widened as he responded, "Penny. That is my train room. You know full well that nobody can be in my room."

"But Sheldon," she practically whimpered, "pleeeeeezzzeee. I don't want to fly with Leonard. He's such a pain in the ass right now."

He inhaled deeply and then blew out as harshly as his lungs would allow, "The best that I can offer is that I will call train officials tonight and inquire about vacancies. I am quite certain all of the rooms are booked, as they are taken quickly. But you may be able to get a seat in the common area."

"But does that mean I wouldn't be near you?" Again with the pouty face.

"It does." Repeated phony exasperation.

"Awe, Sheldon. But wouldn't you have more fun if I'm there to keep you company? I looked it up, it's four whole days. We have to change trains twice. You need me."

He tried, good God he tried, to conceal the building joy that bounced against the inner walls of his body. He rolled his eyes and made a hasty retreat, mumbling something about calling the train people and he would let her know later if there was any availability on the trains.

_He had always hidden what he felt for her. And then one day Wolowitz had pointed it out to him. Actually pointed it out to him. Howard was pissed, really pissed, that Sheldon had told that FBI agent about the night he maneuvered the Mars Rover into the ditch. And so Howard waited until Sheldon was alone to call him out on it:_

"_Sheldon, you asshole. You are the most unaware person on the planet."_

"_Why I'm very aware Howard. And I did apologize to you."_

"_You know, you are so oblivious to others and blind as a fucking bat."_

"_What do you mean? What does a bat's eyesight have to do with anything related to me?"_

"_It means you have no clue to anyone or to anything going on around you. You live in your own little world."_

"_That still doesn't help me. Can you please offer an example to quantify your hypothesis?"_

"_You want an example? I'll give you an example. Penny. Enough said."_

"_Penny?"_

"_Yeah, Sheldon, Penny. The way you two go at each other. The sexual tension. Why you haven't thrown her down on the ground and screwed her brains out is beyond me."_

_Sheldon had turned, wait for it, Fifty Shades of Red, and his eyes bugged out of his head too. If Howard Wolowitz, a mere engineer who was only in possession of a masters degree could sense his deeply buried feelings for Penny, Lord only knew who else might pick up on them._

_Well damn._

Two hours later he was rapping his rhythmic knock on her door and rolling her name across his lips.

"Hey Sheldon."

"Hello Penny. I have completed my inquiry with the train representatives."

"So? Can I ride the train with you?"

"It seems there is no vacancy."

"No. No. This can't be happening. I don't want to fly with Leonard. He's already been over here tonight trying to cozy up to me. I don't want to deal with his crap on this trip. I never get to take a vacation. I don't want his issues to screw this up for me."

"Well, Penny. Going against my better judgment, and purely based on our longstanding friendship, I was able to purchase access for you to join me in my room. I took the liberty of drawing up a Train Riders Relationship Agreement. I trust you will sign it if I allow this madness to take place?"

She agreed to his conditions, signing all the lines he pointed to, both of them knowing full well that she would never adhere to any of his rules.

He in return, never told her that he didn't even ask about available seats or rooms on the train(s). He just booked her into his room. With him. On the train. For four days.

Good Lord. Maybe he was a hippie after all.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I love you guys. No, seriously, I love you. If you were standing in front of me right now I'd give each of you a big, awkward, Saturnalia-esque hug for your kind comments on the first chapter of this goofy story of mine. I'm glad yall like it. Thanks so much for the reviews, follows and favorites. I tired to respond to every review but if I missed anyone I apologize. And of course the site won't allow me to respond if you aren't signed in when you review, so to you guys I say thank you as well. Coolio!**

**Onward we go! Please keep in mind as you read this it is totally loosey-goosey on purpose. It's not meant to be prim nor proper nor perfect. It is what it is with no apologies. I'm writing to and for you…_my fellow Shenny freaks_. Here's to letting the bright light shine…**

TWO

~She Chose the Train~

Silence. Deafening silence.

That's what met her when she told Bernadette and Amy about her plans to take the train. She left out the part that they would be sharing a room together. And if the girls kind of sort of believed that she would have her own room across from his, well that was okay.

Whining, screeching, mumbling, cursing, (and a knowing look from Wolowitz, but thank God he kept his thoughts to himself).

That is what met him when he told the guys that Penny would be taking the train with him. He too neglected to share the part where she would be in his room. In his room. In his room. Dear God, in his room. He could hardly swallow because the lump in his throat silenced him.

So Raj giggled, Leonard spat hateful words and Howard winked at him when no one else was looking. Oh, and Penny was staying IN HIS ROOM. It's okay with Jesus but don't tell…well, anyone.

Penny had to beg, plead and promise to pull extra shifts at work just so her boss would agree to grant her the extra days off since she now needed to factor in more travel time for their trip. She would pay for it later, but for now, it was so worth it. She couldn't remember the last time she had been this excited about anything. Lately life had been so mundane and disappointing for Penny. This pending vacation was the salvation she needed that would help her maintain her sanity.

He found himself in her apartment two days before they were to leave. Okay, if they really looked back at the days, he had been in her apartment pretty much every day for the past several…_years_. But who was counting?

The two of them would be departing three days before the others so that there would be just one day difference in their arrival times. He had made the trip across the hall this time to offer his assistance with her packing since (of course) he had completed his own packing over a week ago.

"Penny," he looked over his shoulder at her as he stood folding her clothes and plotting an organizational schematic for her pink suitcase. "You really need to wash those clothes. Honestly, I don't know how you would ever get anything done if it weren't for…"

"You?" she smirked at him.

"Well, in this case yes. If it weren't for me, come Saturday when we need to drive to the train station, you'd still be searching for your underwear."

"And if it weren't for you, Moon Pie, I could get all this done my own way and not have some bossy pants standing in here touching my private, personal stuff," she jerked the shorts he was folding out of his hands and held them behind her back.

"I hope you read the Train Riders Relationship Agreement closely. Because once we step onto the West Coast Chief you will be under a legal and binding agreement not to refer to me as Moon Pie."

She giggled, wondering how long it would take him to notice that she had signed her name _Penny Hearts Sheldon_ on every single line. It would be months later before he would tell her that yes, he had noticed it the moment she had signed it. And really, did she think he, the greatest mind of this century, wouldn't have noticed? Come on, she knew him better than that.

They were in the laundry room waiting for her clothes to finish drying. She was sprawled out on top of one of the washers flipping through In Style magazine and he was banging around on one of the old, broken down dryers.

"Sheldon," she sighed, "that's not your job. You know the building has a maintenance guy to do that. It's his job. And besides, didn't he already threaten to break your knees if you didn't stop messing with stuff around the building?"

"Well," Sheldon huffed, "if he would actually do the job he is being paid to do, I wouldn't feel it necessary to do it for him."

She groaned and continued flipping through the glossy magazine pages. He snuck a look at her long tan legs that dangled over the edge of the washer. He shook his head and wondered how the hell his libido was going to survive a four day cross country train trip with her sharing a room with him. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. Yeah right. They'd have to pry his and Penny's tickets from his cold, dead hands before he would dare give them up. Nope, it was a done deal. Common sense and decency be damned.

She too was sneaking her own looks at him over the top of her magazine. She had read the same article four times now. She was using the magazine to conceal the fact that she was checking him out. Especially when he would bend over to study the dryer he was working on. That certainly was some kind of nice ass he had. And damn, how lucky was that dryer with his beautiful hands working on it? _Holy mother of crap._

She shuddered. Out loud. He looked up at her. Before she could get lost in the intensity of his icy blue eyes she shot her head back down to the pages in her lap.

"What?"

He really had no clue what he did to her. What he had done to her for years.

"Nothing," she sighed, wishing she had the guts to just fucking tell him already.

He clanked around on the dryer until the buzzer sounded to alert her that her clothes were done. She scooted forward and then slid her body off the washing machine and noisily plopped her flip flopped adorned feet down onto the hard cement floor.

He rolled his eyes and stood, turning to face her, "Really Penny, must you be so loud and abrasive?"

In all honesty it was one of the things that turned him on about her. But damn if he didn't have to pretend it drove him crazy.

"Oh Sheldon honey. I'm sorry. Am I shaking up all those massive brain cells of yours? Anyway, why are you even down here with me? All of your clothes are perfectly clean. If I bother you so much, why'd ya come down here? Huh? Why?"

"Well Penny, if you must know," he frantically searched the farthest points of his brain for a logical reason, "I knew if I didn't prod you along, you'd be down here in this basement alone doing your laundry at midnight. And that just wouldn't be safe. So I was making an effort to be gallant. It's how my mama raised me," he ended with the Texas twang that he knew without a doubt she loved.

She grinned. God how she loved it when he talked all Texasy.

"Thanks Sheldon," she kind of blushed and twisted her head so that her long hair would cover her pink cheeks.

He noted her tinted cheeks anyway, despite her best effort to conceal them.

**~73~**

It was the day before she and Sheldon were to leave. She had been forced to pull a double shift, lunch and dinner, but she did it with a shit eating grin. There wasn't anything in the world that could get to her now. She put up with crap from rude customers, stupid kids screaming their heads off and dumb asses spilling food and drinks all over her area. She was on top of the world. Exhausted, but on top of the world.

She climbed the stairs to the forth floor, thankful that they didn't have to leave for the train station until later in the afternoon the next day. If she would have had to get up early the next morning she would have just canceled the entire trip so she could sleep. Okay, not really, but still. She was one tired puppy.

She shouldn't have been surprised to find him propped against the wall waiting for her when she reached her floor.

"Hello Penny," he said a little too smugly for her liking.

"Hey Sheldon. What's up?"

"Well, I was thinking that you would be tired and maybe hungry when you got home from working such long hours. So I purchased your favorite ice cream for you. You told me once that Ben and Jerry help you relax after a long day at work."

He had somehow mustered his courage. Tonight, he had decided, was going to be the night he confronted her (again) about his feelings. He was tired of pretending they didn't exist. He was tired of worrying about Amy and Leonard. He wanted her, he was about to embark on a four day train trip across the country with her and he didn't want to have to pretend any longer. Besides, so much time had passed; he needed to know if she felt the same way.

He had reasoned that it would be best to just talk to her, clear the air if you will, before they even stepped onto the train. That way she would know, there would be no question about his intentions, and she would still have plenty of time to choose to take the airplane with the others if she didn't want to ride the train with him after he opened his heart to her. He was a fucking nervous wreck. So he was stalling with a couple of cartons of Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Is that a crime?

Penny shot him a sideways look and thought that she detected a hint of nervousness in his normally overly confident voice.

She grinned up at him, "Thanks, Sheldon. It's perfect."

"Well, I just want you to be well rested and in good spirits for tomorrow."

Penny opened her door and motioned him in. He pushed off the wall and followed her in, rolling his eyes as he watched her shrug off her jacket and drop it and her purse in the floor beside the doorway. Did this woman have no sense of couth at all?

"Hey guys, what's up?" Leonard had heard them talking in the hallway and decided to join them. He figured they were going to have four days together on the train so the least they could do was hang out with him on the night before they left. _Fucker._

Penny sighed softly and dug out three bowls for the ice cream. She noticed as she stood in her kitchen that Leonard had taken a seat on the sofa and Sheldon was in his usual chair. They were debating the merits of dragging their video games and Blu-ray movies to North Carolina with them. While the cabin they were renting claimed to have an Xbox and a PS3, Sheldon had no desire to let his discs touch strange players that contained the germs of every unwashed individual who had used the cabin before him. No way was he taking his stuff. It was all he could do to think about sleeping in beds that others had slept in, both on the train and in the cabin. But letting his precious movies and games touch shared property was a whole other matter completely.

"Dammit Sheldon," Leonard hissed, "Why do you have to be such an anal nut bag? Penny, do you see what you are going to be dealing with for four whole days? In a confined space? You sure you don't want to change your mind and come on the plane with us sane people?"

Her eyes shot in Sheldon's direction. Was that hurt that Penny detected on Sheldon's face? Embarrassment? Anger?

"I'm sure," she said as she handed Leonard his bowl and then went to Sheldon. She purposely leaned in close to him as she handed him his ice cream. When he took it from her, she brushed her hand across his arm and ran it up to his shoulder and gave him a gentle squeeze.

"I'm looking forward to riding the train with Sheldon. I like spending time with him."

She was not going to stand for Leonard berating Sheldon.

"Oh, well…okay," Leonard stuttered. Why the hell was she touching Sheldon like that?

Sheldon released a sigh that was so soft and quiet that had she not felt it blow across her hand she would never have been aware of it.

They watched the late news and ate their ice cream in silence, the three of them, and then Penny announced with a long and loud yawn that she needed them to leave so that she could get in bed. She told Sheldon to check in with her around noon the next day for any last minute details they may need to address before leaving for the station later in the afternoon. Leonard awkwardly hugged her goodbye and told her he would see her in North Carolina in a few days. Sheldon followed Leonard out the door but not before turning quickly to her, placing his hand on her cheek, locking eyes with her and whispering "Thank you for what you said. I like spending time with you too."

She melted into a big puddle of goo on her floor as soon as she shut the door behind them.

And Sheldon never got to say to her what he had spent hours planning to tell her.

**~73~**

Of course Sheldon was knocking at her door and calling her name at precisely noon. And of course she was still half asleep. Could she help it that there was a Sex and the City marathon on all night and she just had to watch it to the end to see Big go to Paris and bring Carrie back to New York? Uh, no.

"Hey Sheldon," she gave him a big sleepy grin.

How he so wanted to comment on her less than mature behavior, but she looked so good, and he was so turned on that instead he quickly dropped his large hands down in front of himself and stepped back.

"Good morning Penny. We need to leave at precisely two pm. That gives you exactly two hours to complete any last minute details. Is that acceptable to you?"

"Yes! I am so excited Sheldon. I can't believe this day is finally here, can you?"

He wasn't sure what to make of her squealing and bouncing around. But he sure as hell found it attractive. The only thing he was absolutely, positively sure about was that he needed to make a hasty retreat back to the privacy of his own room to calm down. To get a grip on himself. Literally and figuratively. Umm, yeah. Cough.

"Well, Penny, I can actually believe it. Yesterday was October fifth and so it only stands to reason that today would be October sixth."

She laughed, refusing to let his superior attitude get the best of her.

"I'll be ready at two Sheldon. I'll meet you in the hall, m'kay?"

"_M'kay_," he snarkily retorted, then turned to make his getaway.

Her phone rang as she pushed the door closed. _Amy_.

"Hi Amy," she chirped into the phone.

"Hello Bestie."

"What's up?"

"Well, I know that you and Sheldon will be leaving for the first leg of our trip today and I just wanted to check and see if you needed any last minute help with anything. I could help you pack, I could help you shower…you know, anything at all. Just say the word."

Penny laughed, nothing Amy could say today would creep her out. Nothing at all. But there was one thing she did need from Amy. One thing she had to be clear about before she left Pasadena.

"That's really sweet Amy, but I'm fine. Sheldon helped me with my laundry a couple of nights ago and I finished packing last night. So, yeah, I'm good."

"Okay. Well I will be performing those tasks today in anticipation of my pending departure. Are you quite sure you still want to go on that long train ride instead of taking to the air with the rest of our social group?"

"Yes, I'm sure. I'm actually looking forward to riding the train with Sheldon. He's so excited about it and I want to experience it with him. I am really glad he's not going to have to go alone like he originally planned. But I do need to ask you one thing, Amy."

"Shoot Bestie."

"Well," Penny attempted to chose her words wisely, as the last thing she wanted to do was hurt Amy. "You and Sheldon? Is that completely over? Do you still have feelings for him or hopes of getting back together with him?"

Surprising Amy laughed, "Oh no. It's over. I still care for the guy as a friend. But there is no way I can be his girlfriend. I have sexual needs that he has made abundantly clear he has no intentions of meeting. I am moving on. I need some lovin' and if he can't give it to me I will find it elsewhere. Unfortunately, elsewhere for me right now is my electric toothbrush, but hey, it gets the job done."

Penny stifled a laugh. Amy was the best. She really was.

"Amy you crack me up. I can't wait til we all get to North Carolina. We are going to have lots of girl time."

"Oh Penny, don't make promises that you can't keep. I'll bring my extra toothbrush just in case."

They both laughed and then Penny told Amy she needed to go take a shower and get dressed so that Sheldon wouldn't freak out if she wasn't ready at exactly the designated time.

"Okay. And Penny?"

"Yeah?"

"Take good care of him."

"What?"

"Sheldon."

"Amy…"

"It's okay. A person would have to be blind as a bat to not see what you two have together. It's electric."

"Oh Amy."

"The night I met you…the night you drove Sheldon and me on our first date…I saw it then. I was falling in love with you until I realized he was already there. He already loved you. Bye Penny, I'll see you in Asheville."

The next time she would speak to Amy, Penny would be able to tell her that she was right. He did love her. And she loved him right back.

_And what was it about bats with bad eye sight? Was that a science-y thing or what?_


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I took a train up the east coast a few summers ago. My friend and I spent a fortune to purchase a room on the train (flying would have been much less expensive). The money and time we invested was well worth it. I love train travel almost as much as Sheldon does. I wasn't with anyone I had a love interest in (dammit) but I remember wishing I was. Trains are romance personified. If you ever have the opportunity to ride the rails, I urge you to do so. You won't regret it. In the meantime, I suppose we can all live vicariously through Penny and Sheldon for now.**

THREE

~They Ride the Rails~

Sheldon was wonder-struck as they climbed aboard. He, with the enthusiasm of a boy, but most certainly a man. A man she could barely tear her eyes from. And she, with a catch in her throat, touched that he was bringing her along on this journey of his, that he had allowed her access to this thing he so cherished.

Penny got it. She got _him_. He was a man that wasn't jaded by the world the way most other people were. He still felt and expressed happiness and joy without an ounce of shame. He was just being himself and to hell with anybody that didn't like it.

She decided she had rather be around Sheldon, Sheldon who was laughing and inspecting every nook and cranny and asking the attendant a million and one questions, including if and when he could meet the engineer. And would they allow him to blow the horn?...than around some dumb-wad of a jock who didn't even know trains had horns…or around some whiney ass like Leonard who had mommy issues and felt that women owed him something. God. Sheldon was more of a man than any man she had ever known.

"Penny we are here. We are really here. We are going across America on a train."

His exuberance had spread to her and she too found herself giddy with excitement.

"I know sweetie," she whispered as they both stared out the window with their noses pressed firmly against the cold glass. (After Sheldon had completely wiped the windows down with bleach of course.)

He pulled back and looked at her, surprising her when he reached for her hand.

"I'm glad you're here with me. Even if you are in my room."

"Our room. Okay?"

"Okay," he smiled at her (and she melted just a little bit).

"I'm glad I'm here too Sheldon."

"It makes it perfect," he said, and then his face went flush with the stain of crimson and he had to get up and stick his head out into the hallway to get some air.

The train pulled out of the station, Sheldon exclaimed "Whee!" at least seven times, and Penny quickly adapted to the chugging of the wheels churning hypnotically against the metal rails of the train tracks.

Their first argument was about where to store their luggage. Penny just kind of haphazardly scattered it about the room but Sheldon had insisted on order and organization. She was the chaos to his structure. Sheldon won that round_._

Their second argument was about her sitting on the couch that later that night would be pulled out and converted into his bed. It was the bigger one while she would sleep on the smaller bed that would drop from the ceiling at bedtime. He complained that no one sits on his bed. She pointed out that during the day, when it wasn't actually converted into a bed, they had to sit on it to see out the window. He was stubborn and she was rational. Penny won that round.

And so it went. Until they got hungry.

Sheldon had taken the liberty of making dinner reservations in the upper deck dining room. Penny was glad she had thought to pack her LBD (Little Black Dress, duh). She was thrilled that he had packed the suit she helped him pick out for his big fancy smancy award that time. Yeah, the time he took his pants off. The time he mooned the CalTech audience and she drooled a little bit when she saw his ass. The time he woke up with bed head and no pants and she resisted the urge to slam him on the floor and fuck his brains out. Yeah, that time. Yeah, that suit.

They had a small bathroom in their Superliner room and she insisted he get ready first for two reasons. One, she knew it would take her much longer than it would him. And two, she knew he would have a cow when he saw how much girly crap she would be leaving in the bathroom for the duration of the train ride. No need in springing that one on him just yet.

He waited for her, thumbing through the pamphlets about the train route as she got ready. And then when she finally exited the bathroom and he got a load of her short, tight, low cut dress, he dropped the pamphlets on the floor. He scrambled around to retrieve them but he dropped them a second time when he brought his gaze up and realized he was now on the floor- eye level with her smooth, tan legs. Penny giggled and stepped out into the hallway to give him time to compose himself.

She was pleasantly surprised by the elegance of the dining car. Its tables were dressed with neatly pressed white clothes and accessorized with softly glowing candles and fine silverware. The atmosphere on the train and particularly in the dining car reminded her of the classiness of old black and white movies. She was beginning to totally understand why Sheldon loved rail travel so much. It harkened back to bygone days. She was slowly discovering that he was of a gentle and old soul, appreciative of the times when a woman was a lady and man was a gentleman. When handshakes were a man's word and respect for women was the order of the day.

"So," he gave her his shyest of smiles from across the table, "how do you like the train so far?"

"Sheldon," she sighed, "thank you so much for introducing me to this. This way of life, this elegance. It's every girl's dream."

"Yeah," he breathed out, pleased that she actually got the vibe of the train experience.

"You know, I actually feel bad for the others. They have no idea what they are missing."

He laughed, "Yes and I'm quiet glad it ended up this way."

"What? Why?"

"Because I wouldn't want to share this, I wouldn't want to share _you_, with anyone else."

The temperature in the room went up at least ten extra degrees and she felt every single one of them.

"Why Sheldon," she flirted, "aren't you the Casanova?"

He offered her a shy smile and nervously fidgeted with the collar of his shirt.

"After dinner, if you like, we can venture over to the lounge car. They have alcohol and dancing and a small band. But you have to promise to have no more than one glass of whatever it is you drink. I can't deal with a drunken woman in my room."

She laughed. If anyone else had said this she would have ordered a whole bottle of wine just to piss them off. But since it was Sheldon, well, as with most everything else, she let it slide. Because really, he could pretty much get away with anything with her. Just like he gave her a pass on most everything else when others would be banished. She figured she was up to at least two hundred and fifty seven strikes by now. And she'd never even had to take his class. They had granted one another carte blanche privileges years ago.

"That sounds…_dreamy_," she sighed, then wondered where the hell 'dreamy' came from. She'd never used such an absurd word in her entire life.

"I see the Star Coast Chief is casting its spell over you. Dreamy. The perfect word. Very nice Penny."

The lounge car proved to be the most romantic place Penny had ever seen (and for Sheldon too, because up to this point, the comic book store was about as romantic as he ever got). She would look back at that night much later and realize that the moment she and Sheldon crossed the threshold into the room, it would change their lives forever. It was the moment she, the moment _they_, went from being goofy, immature barely adults to full fledge, when-a-man-loves-a-woman adults.

"Sheldon," she whispered, "pinch me. I have to be dreaming right now."

He grinned down at her, "Nope, this is all real. This is what I wanted to share with you. My expectations have not only been met, but exceeded."

He couldn't help but think that if she didn't somehow fall in love with him on this night, she never would. _He had no way of knowing she had been in love with him for years._

It was a throw back to the jazz clubs of old. Small, intimate tables for two with dancing candles as their center piece, the American Songbook catalogue being performed by the small three piece band with a bluesy, jazzy, sexy, smoky vibe to each and every note, a small but perfect hardwood dance floor…Penny half expected to see Tony Bennett or Michael Buble standing on stage with the band.

She wasn't surprised when he asked her to dance. Couples didn't come to places like this and not dance. He held her tight as they swayed to songs like I'll Be Seeing You, Moon River and The Nearness of You. And it was during The Way You Look Tonight that he whispered to her that she was beautiful. And before the song ended his lips had touched hers for the first time since that night so long ago in her apartment.

"Sheldon," she whispered when he pulled his lips from hers.

"Penny, forgive me, I got lost in the moment."

He released her and shoved his hands in his pockets, overwhelmed with emotions he never expected to feel. Now that his dream was right at his fingertips he felt lost, unsure if he could ever be the man she deserved.

"Hey, it's fine. There's nothing to forgive. I liked it. Just let me know when you are ready, okay?"

"Okay," he said softly, then he asked, "Are _you_ ready?"

"Yes."

She turned to make her way to the bar and he trailed after her.

She ordered diet sodas for them both, then winked at the old bartender and instructed him to top them off with little umbrellas. She knew how much those umbrellas meant to Sheldon.

They stayed there laughing and talking with the bartender until the last call was made. The presence of the bartender served to alleviate the awkwardness that had settled between them. It was just past one a.m. when they left the lounge car. He reached to take her hand in his and they walked quietly back to their room. If anyone had been watching them, they would have sworn they were just another young couple in love.

But it was as if the spell was broken when they got back to their room.

He politely offered to let her use the bathroom first even though he joked that she would be in there until at least Albuquerque. He didn't mention his needed REM sleep, but he did hint at her to hurry up. By the time she emerged with a freshly washed face, minty clean mouth, pink striped pajamas with matching fuzzy slippers and bouncing blonde ponytail, he had changed into his red and gray plaid pajamas and was helping the attendant ready their beds for the night. Sheldon wasn't crazy about the way the attendant gawked at Penny and he quickly shooed the man out of the room, assuring him he could pull the top bed down.

By the time he finished his turn in the bathroom, he found her sprawled out across his bed, half lying on his newest issue of The Flash comic book and twisting around to some song on her ipod. Her eyes were closed and though he almost yelped out loud when he saw her elbow pressing into The Flash, he chose instead to just watch her. His eyes blazed down the path that the cord from her headphones created, going from her ears, traveling down her soft smooth neck, across her chest between the two mounds hidden beneath her thin pink pajama top, down her flat stomach, ending where they were plugged into the ipod that rested on the waistband of her pajama shorts. He could purchase another damn comic book. But he could never get enough of Penny. Even if she was lying on his bed and invading his space. Oh. _Oh…_

He intended to bend down and touch her arm to get her attention. To instruct her to get off his bed, and off his Flash, and to climb the ladder and get in her own bed. But when he took his first step towards her, he felt the shift in his pants, the tightness, the telling, leave no doubt about the party in his pants stiffness and he made a sudden and quick retreat back to the bathroom. Really, how in the hell could she not know that she couldn't just lay there withering around on his bed like that? And it sort of pissed him off that The Flash was getting more action, _more Penny_, than he was.

He thought about just jerking off. God knows it wouldn't take long at all. He was hard as hell and he knew as soon as his hand made contact with his member, well, let's just say he'd hear the angels singing. But he stopped himself. What if? What if tonight was different from all the other nights? What if tonight, the two of them alone in this very small train room with no possibilities of friends walking in or phones ringing or one of them deciding to back out and return to their apartment across the hall…what if tonight they just gave in? What if tonight he had enough confidence and courage to touch her? What if he told her he _was_ ready?

He reasoned that he had, after all, just held her on the dance floor in a way he'd never held any other woman. And they had kissed…actually kissed…just as they had that one night in her apartment when she had finally pushed him away and told him they couldn't go there, they had to wait. But tonight she hadn't pushed him away. She had actually told him she was ready. She was waiting for _him_ to be ready.

After that kiss, they both had blushed and stepped back and he had apologized and she had suggested they get a drink and then the bartender started telling them all about the time William Shatner…aka, Captain Kirk… had ridden the train, the same damn train they were on now for God's sake, and Sheldon had of course told him about his Leonard Nimoy napkin which then opened the door for Penny to tell about the time Nimoy came into the Cheesecake Factory and yeah, it was enough to make them forget all about the accidental kiss.

Except they hadn't. Hadn't forgotten that is.

The cool smooth feel of the comic book under her arm caused her to jerk her eyes open and see that she had smashed her elbow into his new Flash. Oh crap. She could see the crinkles in it and shit, he was really going to be mad at her. She was glad he hadn't come out of the bathroom yet. She tried to smooth it down, but it didn't really work (she was sure that when he saw the wrinkles, it would result in at least ten strikes). So she made quick haste of jumping off of his bed and she climbed/wobbled up the ladder to her own bed and buried herself under the covers. She had been listening to John Mayer on repeat singing Slow Dancing in a Burning Room and was lost in the thoughts of the way Sheldon had held her when they danced. The way Sheldon had kissed her. She just wanted to lie there and replay it over and over in her mind. She wanted to pretend like they didn't both pull away and mumble and make a stupid big deal over going to get a drink. Instead, in the fantasy playing out in her mind the kiss had deepened and lasted much longer. And he had extended the kiss down her neck and whispered how badly he wanted her. _In her dreams…_

But no. Oh hell no. They had instead stood there drinking and talking to the stupid bartender about James Tiberius Kirk (and btw, how was it she even KNEW the full name of the fucking captain of the fucking Enterprise from fucking Star Trek, original series?). WTF? Seriously, WTF?

God. She was so frustrated. She watched as he shuffled out of the bathroom. Their eyes met and he nodded and then sank down onto the bed under the one she was on. She waited for the explosion that never came. He didn't even mention his comic book.

"Sheldon?"

The room was dark, the only sound was the low roar of the train engine and the almost hypnotizing swish of the metal wheels rushing across the railroad tracks.

"Yes?"

"Are you awake?"

He rolled his eyes in the darkness, "It stands to reason…"

"I know, I know," she interrupted his pain in the ass reasoning.

"What do you want Penny?"

"Are bats really blind?"

"What?"

"Bats. You know, bats. Scary black flying rat looking things with wings. They mostly come out around Halloween."

He resisted the inclination to give her a full dissertation on bats and instead said, "Why do you ask?"

"Well, someone said to me the other day that people would have to be blind as a bat not to see something. I thought about it later and wondered if bats were really blind. I knew that you would know. So yeah, that's why I'm asking."

His mind flipped quickly through its massive index and retrieved the conversation he'd had months earlier with Wolowitz. The conversation where Howard had accused him of being blind as a bat for not seeing what was between him and Penny.

He cleared his throat before he spoke.

"Was it Wolowitz?"

"No. Why would I be talking to Howard about bats?"

"Well, because Wolowitz made a similar comment to me about the eyesight of bats."

"Oh. So, are they really blind?"

"Well, no, it's just a myth perpetuated on the public because bats primarily use a form of sonar to navigate. It's yet another scathing indictment of our public education system."

A good while passed with no more conversation, both lost in their own thoughts. She thought he was probably asleep now.

"Penny?" his voice broke the stillness of the night.

"Yes?"

"Are you awake?"

"Bazinga?"

"Yes."

He laughed his breathy laugh.

She laughed too, glad he wasn't asleep yet.

"What up Moon Pie?"

He ignored the Moon Pie comment.

"What were you metaphorically blind as a bat about?"

Oh God. She couldn't tell him that. She couldn't tell him that Amy had told her that people would have to be blind as a bat to not know there was something between the two of them. Of course she had no clue that Howard had said the exact same thing to Sheldon.

"I'm sleepy Sheldon."

"I see."

She had to know that big brain of his was already spinning and creating answers to the question she was refusing to answer.

"Goodnight Sheldon."

He sighed, "Goodnight Penny."

She slept on top of him that night, one of his many fantasies of Penny. The only problem was she was in a completely separate bed. He should have jerked off while he was in the bathroom after all. Now he was in pain. Tonight definitely wasn't the night. _Drat._

**~Next chapter goes M just so you know. Yeah, I'm a tease.~**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: It's early Sunday morning and there's a definite fall chill in the air. Whilst the rest of my neighborhood is still tucked warmly under their blankets, I'm huddled on my back porch satiating my desperate need for the crispness of the clean restful solace that only autumn has ever brought me. No other season of the year invigorates me the way this one does. I'm addicted to this time of year. I think I always have been. My coffee cup swirls with steam and my computer warms my lap and hums softly as I tap the keys and peck at my latest story of our beloved Shenny. I'm huddled in my favorite sweatshirt that sports the emblem of my cherished university. I finally relented and pulled the hood over my head to prevent my ears from shattering against the frosty bite of nature's tongue that slurps at my face, the only exposed skin on my body. I think about you guys, people whose faces I'll probably never see or voices I'll never hear or hands I'll never shake. But your words…I'll always read your words and I know you are reading mine. I just want to thank you for that. Thanks for sharing this mad, loony, inexplicable addiction with me. You prevent me from standing alone. Thank you. This chapter is my gift to you. I think you'll enjoy it.**

FOUR

~She Said Yes~

His sleep was fitful at best. Hers wasn't much better. He wanted her to know how badly he ached for her. She needed to tell him how desperately she longed to whisper to him in the night. He had to express to her how nothing meant more to him than that he hold her and protect her for the rest of his life. She had to let him know how badly she wanted to take care of him…in sickness and in health. _Forever._

She had told him she was ready but she had not elaborated and he wasn't certain what exactly she was ready for. Ready for sex? Ready for dating? Ready to let him love her? He hadn't a clue.

He avoided asking because he wondered if she could only really care about him as anything other than a friend. He thought it highly improbable that a beautiful woman like Penny would ever want an OCD, whack-a-doodle, video game playing nerd like him in the same way that he wanted her.

She felt like she had blown it the night before. Telling him she was ready for him. She had probably scared him to death and any chance she had with him was gone for good now. Her idea to sprawl out on his bed and practically offer herself to him had failed miserably. She longed to tell him that she fantasized about him, how she maybe even loved him. She wondered if he was finally realizing that there was no way a genius like him could ever want a fashion loving, uneducated waitress-wannbe-actress like her.

They avoided any talk of _them_ because neither wanted to take the risk of ruining their beautiful friendship. And both were scared to death that the feeling wouldn't be mutual. And then it would just make everything awkward and weird between them. And so they said absolutely nothing. Great.

The universe and all its mystery and wisdom had for whatever reason granted them four uninterrupted days together and they were squandering every single minute of it. And as it turned out, sharing that tiny bedroom, being in such close quarters together was putting them both on edge. Tension permeated the air. Something was going to have to give and it was going to have to give soon. Or else Sheldon was going to have to camp out in the bathroom for like, forever. Yeah, it was that bad.

They spent most of the morning gawking out the window at the stunning fall scenery with Sheldon following the map and naming the small towns and cities as they passed through them. Penny sat close to him, probably too close, and at one point she was almost certain he was pressing his leg closer to hers on purpose. He breathed in deep, sucking in her scent, and cocked his head towards her. She felt his eyes on her and she turned to meet his gaze.

"What?"

"Penny, what did you mean last night about being ready? I need you to expound on that. I have to confess that I don't understand."

She gave him a nervous smile and slowly lifted her hand to his face, "I think maybe you do understand Sheldon. Maybe you just don't know what you want. And I don't want to push you into something you aren't ready for. You've already done that with Amy. You deserve better. You need a relationship on equal terms, one that you are an equal partner in, not just following along with some woman because you think that's the social equivalent of what you are supposed to do. That's not how it should ever be. You know?"

He shook his head and said, "The only thing I know for certain Penny, is that I enjoyed kissing you. I enjoyed holding you on the dance floor. I'm not much of a dancer, but having you in my arms, swaying with you, it felt good. I liked it."

"I liked it too."

"Dancing or kissing?" he asked shyly, dropping his gaze to the train's floor.

"Both," she breathed out.

"So can we do it again? I'd like to kiss you some more."

She reached for his face, brushing her fingers along his hairline, "I'd love to kiss you some more Sheldon."

He bent to bring his mouth to hers, feeling her shiver as he drew close enough to feel her breath warming his face. He had a hand on either side of her head and he paused to study her features as if he might find the answers he sought in the sea of her green orbs.

"I'm going to kiss you now," he told her and she smiled into his lips as he lowered himself to her.

This kiss was different from the one the night before. He was kissing her with a purpose. His mouth was taking over the rest of his body, moving, biting, sucking, making sounds he'd never heard. When she twirled her tongue around his and then scraped her teeth across his bottom lip he was a goner. He dropped his hands from her face to her arms, unsure at first what to do with them. But when she reached to press her palms into the center of his heaving chest, his instincts took over and he found that he didn't have to think at all. He just had to move. He tugged her closer and then with strength he didn't know he possessed, he lifted her and hauled her into his lap.

He felt his body responding to her hips that were now pressing against his. She ground hard into him, a low moan escaping from her as he eagerly pushed at her shirt. She lifted her arms and encouraged him to slide it off as she reached behind her back and unhooked her bra, exposing herself to him. He gasped before reaching to cup her breasts in his hands. She wrapped her arms around his head and pulled him towards her, urging him on. Within moments his mouth was lapping at her hardened nipples.

"Feels so good," she pushed out, rubbing her sex against his straining bulge.

"My God Penny," he whispered, "I can't…I'm about to…," he grabbed at her waist and stilled her.

"Are you okay?" she said, pressing her forehead against his.

"I…I'm not sure. My…well, it hurts and I'm not sure I can control…," he was at a loss for words (a first for him).

She pulled back and smiled down at him, then scooted back, creating space between them. She pushed down a laugh, noting that even in his distressed state he kept one hand on a breast, stroking it absent mindedly with his thumb.

Looking down at his obvious discomfort, she moved her hand to his khaki covered erection and stroked it gently.

"Penny, God…you can't just…"

She continued brushing her hand across his arousal as she spoke.

"Does it hurt baby?"

"Yes," he brought his mouth back to her tits, nipping and sucking at them frantically.

"Can I see?" she questioned, asking his permission as she felt it was absolutely necessary before she proceeded.

"Yes," he had lost all ability to give a fuck.

She unzipped his pants and eased her hand inside, pushing at his boxers until she found their opening. He began to pant shamelessly as she maneuvered his cock from the confines of his clothing. She gripped it, using her thumb to spread the accumulated droplets of semen around his tip.

"Penny…no one has ever touched…"

"What?" she whispered, watching as he begin to lose himself in the moment, coming undone in a way he'd never known.

"Nothing," he exhaled, deciding he needed to just shut up and trust her.

"That's what I thought," she said, sliding her mouth against the freckles that dotted the pure white skin of his impossibly long neck.

"Oh damn, Penny," he growled in appreciation, "Please do something."

"I'm going to take good care of you Sheldon," she said as she pushed out of his lap and went to her knees in front of him. She slowly licked at him, shivering as he groaned and pleaded with her to touch him. She traced his length with her tongue then moved up and began to lower her mouth onto him. He watched as his member slowly disappeared past her lips. She began to ride his cock with her mouth and he tried desperately not to buck into her. He rested his hands on her shoulders and let her work him, moaning and uttering words he wasn't even aware he knew. As his pending orgasm increased its approach, he could no longer control his hips as he rose and fell with her rhythm.

"Penny," he screeched, "I'm about to come."

He made an effort to pull her away but she batted at his hands, released him long enough to say "I want to taste you" then went low on him again.

"Urrrrrrggggghhhhhh." Whatever the hell that was, he didn't know or care. Waves of pleasure washed over him as sweet relief finally found him.

It took him a minute to recover enough to reach for her and pull her back into his lap.

"Thank you," he whispered, burying his face in her chest.

"You needed it," she laughed as she lazily brushed her fingers through his hair.

He pulled back and looked at her, "And what do you need Penny?"

"Well," she wasn't sure how far he could go, how far he was willing to go. "You kind of have me turned on here and I need…relief too." She rocked her hips into his.

"Show me what to do," he said, his voice raw with sex.

She pushed off of him and stood, shoving her pants down and stepping out of them, then he watched as she glided her hands across her abdomen, down her sides and over her thighs. She kept her eyes locked on his as she trailed her fingers to her panties and traced over the damp fabric that hid the path to her core, moaning as she began to pleasure herself.

"God," he groaned, his Adams apple bobbing in his throat as he swallowed harshly.

"This is how I want you to touch me Sheldon," she said, then bent to remove her panties, never breaking eye contact with him. His eyes widened as she slipped her index finger along her folds, moaning when her fingers found her clit.

He reached for her and she turned her back to him as he pulled her down onto his lap. He brought his arms around her and lowered his hand to her simmering entrance, allowing her to guide his fingers to her desire.

"Yeah, that's it baby, stroke it just like that," she hissed, rocking her hips into his hand. "Now use your fingers, put them inside me…oh God."

He slowly inserted one, then another long slim finger into her until she was thrusting frantically with his movements.

"God, Penny…you are so…this is so good."

"Mmmm…fuck…Sheldon…harder and faster," she panted.

He did as she commanded, speeding his motions and increasing his pressure.

"Come for me Penny."

And she did. Words she never thought she'd hear from him brought her over the edge.

She collapsed into him, resting her back against his chest, both of them heaving from the intimacy of the moment.

Sheldon kissed at her neck and as their breathing returned to normal, he wondered what he was supposed to do now with a lap full of naked Penny. She sensed his uncertainty. She lifted his hands to her mouth and kissed at them, then stood to gather her clothes.

"Was that okay Sheldon? I mean, was it too much?"

He gave her a sleepy grin and said, "It was perfect."

**~73~**

After a few awkward moments they had both gotten dressed and he suggested they explore the train. They were thrilled when they discovered a car with a small arcade. For the rest of the afternoon they played old video games. Apparently the train company hadn't updated their video games in like twenty years or something but it was fine with them both because he hadn't played Galaga in ages and she had always love Ms. Pac Man.

As expected, their competitive natures got the best of them and they did battle on both games until finally the guy working the room had ask them to please leave because they were disturbing the other guests and scaring the children. Sheldon blamed it on Penny and Penny blamed it on Sheldon. They huffed their way back to their room where he proceeded to read science magazines and she listened to more John Mayer and some Radiohead on her ipod until it was time for dinner. They were both starved since they had missed lunch due to the arcade fiasco.

They went to the main dining room and had burgers and fries and finally loosened up enough to laugh at themselves and how silly the whole game room thing had been. It was already getting late but she really didn't want the night to end.

"Hey Sheldon, after we finish eating, let's get dressed up again and go back to the lounge, want to?"

He grinned at her, "I thought you'd never ask."

He had a plan for the evening-music and dancing and staying away from the damn bartender. And this time, this time, when he held her in his arms and swayed with her on the dance floor, he swore to himself that he was going to gather all of his courage and just lay it on the line. He would tell her he loved her, that he had loved her since the first day he saw her. He would tell her that he was a complete and utter fool for allowing the shenanigans with Leonard to take place. And then he'd pray that she felt the same way.

Sure, they had done a lot that afternoon, more than he ever thought they would, but it was just sex and he wanted so much more. She was having the same thoughts. She was wondering if she had done too much, if he'd see her as just a sex toy like so many guys before him. No one to really love, just to fuck on occasion. That was not the relationship she wanted with Sheldon. She wanted so much more and she hoped that he did too.

The car attendant had already turned their beds down since it was past nine p.m., resulting in them having to scoot around each other to get ready to go back out to the lounge. Penny hustled into the bathroom to touch up her make up and brush her teeth. She came out wearing her robe. He averted his eyes and stepped around her to have his turn in the bathroom. It felt oddly comforting to be there together, even in this close confinement, getting dressed to go out.

He shaved and brushed his teeth and when he came out he practically ran into Penny who was up on her tiptoes stretching to retrieve her suitcase from the overhead storage bin.

"Can I get that for you?" he asked, trying not to stare at the way her robe was beginning to work itself loose as she lifted her arms higher to reach the handle of her luggage.

"No, I can get it. My stupid shoes are in there. Sorry I'm not ready but all I have to do is slip my dress on and well, grab my shoes."

He stood behind her and pointed out that he was at least a foot taller than her and if she would just step aside he could easily get her bag. Of course her competitive nature kicked in and she told him she could do it herself and she refused to move. He remained behind her because by now his feet felt glued to the floor and he couldn't help but be amused by her determined attempt to reach the ridiculously bright pink suitcase.

She was keenly aware of him being directly behind her. She could feel the heat from his body and smell the mouthwash and light scent of his shave soap.

"Penny, let me."

"I can get it Sheldon."

He moved closer behind her, she felt his clothes brushing against hers, and she could just imagine him trying ever so carefully to get close enough to help her but not so close as to totally invade her personal space. He was always such a gentleman.

Except for when he wasn't.

"Let me," he said a bit more forcefully as he raised his arms towards the suitcase.

She felt his body inch closer, now pressing against the back of her, causing every nerve ending on her skin to come alive.

"Sheldon," it came out as a whisper and she dropped back on her heels and lowered her arms to her sides.

"Let me…," he repeated and she heard him gulp and felt the air swoosh as he dropped his arms and tentatively pressed against her.

"Let you…" her body trembled as she pushed out the words.

"Let me have you," he breathed into her ear and then he lowered his forehead to rest on her shoulder and waited for her answer.

A soft sigh escaped her lips and she reached back to touch him.

"Yes."

"Yes?"

"Definitely yes."

"Are you..."

"I'm clean and on the pill. I haven't been with anyone since Leonard. I've been waiting for _us_."

He brushed his lips across the smooth skin of her neck and she shivered as his warm breath and soft touch mingled with her growing passion. She felt his hardness pressing into her lower back and she pushed harder into it and felt him shudder. He slowly began to untie the sash that held her robe together and when it fell open, he slipped his hand under it and splayed his fingers across her abdomen with his left hand and hesitantly drug his right hand upwards towards her breasts. With his hand planted firmly on her, he was able to pull her harder and tighter into his erection and she felt him grind towards her. A low moan escaped his lips as she gently shimmied her hips back and slithered against his manhood.

He kneaded her breasts through the lace of her bra and his trembling fingers squeezed and rolled her hardening nipples. She felt his other hand slide lower and trace the top of her panties. She dropped her hand to the top of his and guided him to go lower, silently giving him permission to continue his exploration of her body. Her breath hitched along with his when he eased his fingers under her panties and lowered them to her silky wet folds. She pushed her own hand between their bodies and blazed a trail down his torso until her hand rested on his throbbing cock that was painfully pushing against his pants. He groaned low and deep and closed his eyes willing himself not to come right then and there as she stroked and teased him through his clothes.

"Penny," his voice trembled as he released her and tried to step back.

She turned towards him and reached to wrap her arms around his neck. His hands instinctively went to her hips and he pulled her towards him.

"Yes?" she asked, feigning innocence, batting her eyes at him.

"I want you but if you keep touching me like that I'm afraid the moment will be over before it even begins. What we did this afternoon was great but I would like for it to last longer if we are to proceed."

"Well," she said seductively, "if I do _this_," she dropped her robe, reached behind and unsnapped her bra, letting it join her robe on the floor, then bent to push her panties down and off, "will you still want me?"

"God yes," he said, grabbing her roughly and pulling her to him again.

He bent and crushed his lips into hers, and it only took a second for her to force his lips apart and thrust her tongue into his desperate mouth. She grabbed his shirts and yanked at them and together they quickly removed them and added them to the growing pile of clothes on the floor. He kicked off his shoes and then watched as she undid his belt and then the button and the zipper and pushed them, along with his boxers down to the floor. He inhaled deeply as his cock sprang up and stood at attention. He loved it when she told him how beautiful it was and how she had fantasized about having it inside of her. He groaned at her words and swore to her that her fantasy was about to come true.

He pulled her onto his bed and wrapped her in his arms, intoxicated by the feeling of her skin touching his. They slowed the pace down, taking time to touch each other, to learn one another's bodies, to make the feeling last forever.

"I feel like I'm dreaming," he whispered.

"I've wanted this, I've wanted you, for so long Sheldon," she confessed to him, overwhelmed at how good it felt to finally just tell him the truth.

He lightly traced his fingers across her arms and down to the curves of her hips. He felt her goose bumps under his hands and it made him smile with satisfaction.

"I never thought you would want me like this," his own admission spoken aloud.

She trailed kisses along his collarbone, up his neck, across his jaw line. And then she leaned over him, above him, her hair cascading down onto his chest and whispered what she wanted to do to him, what she wanted him to do to her. He sighed and said he would do anything she wanted.

"Make love to me Sheldon."

He rolled her over and spread his body across the top of hers. She reached down and grasped him and softly guided him into her waiting ache.

"Oh my God," he sighed when he was completely inside of her.

He began to move slowly, gliding in and out of her, filling her and emptying her and she rose and fell with his rhythm. He dropped his head to her chest and worked her nipples with his mouth. She suckled his neck, knowing without a doubt he would wear her mark for days to come.

Their slow and steady thrusting began to increase and their panting was fast and audible. She felt the electric flush of her pending orgasm building and she reached to put her hands on either side of his face. He nodded and then began to pump in and out of her hard and fast, his heart racing to keep time with his desperate release that was whipping steadily around the edges of his desire. She reached around him and placed her hands on his ass and pushed him deeper and deeper into her. They came at the same time, both overwhelmed by the physical and emotional elements of their feelings clashing together in utter bliss.

"You've just made me," he was the first to speak, his voice still low and coated with passion, "the happiest man on earth."

She reached to brush her fingers through his hair and sighed, "I've wanted you for so long Sheldon. You are…well, you are everything to me."

He eased off of her and rolled to his side, propping on his elbow, staying close enough to have his body still pressed firmly against hers.

"Everything?" he smiled down at her.

She rolled onto her side to face him and draped her leg across his, propping herself up to study his face.

"Yes," her voice was soft and shy, her mind reeling from the raw honesty of the moment, "you are my best friend, my confidant, my fiercest competitor and now my lover."

She lowered her head and brushed soft kisses across his chest, up his neck and over his face, landing on his lips.

"My everything," she breathed the word into his mouth.

"And you are mine," he reached to push a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Hey," she sat up quickly, "I thought we were going dancing!"

He tried to pull her back down to him and she giggled and swatted at him.

"That was before this. I was going to woo you on the dance floor tonight and hope like hell that you'd get so lost in the music that you'd have a moment of weakness and well, take pity on me and let me make love to you."

"You do make me weak, but I can assure you that the very last thing I would ever feel for you is pity. But it's kinda sexy that you had a plan."

He laughed, "Well, I ran the numbers, looked at my options, researched my hypothesis and concluded that it was, well to use layman's terms, now or never."

She leaned down and squeezed his thigh then playfully ran her hand across his groin, then bent and whispered, "Take me dancing Sheldon. I still want you to woo me."

He sighed, "So is this how it's going to be? Me unable to ever say no to you?"

"Yep, that's how it's gonna be," she laughed, adding, "but I promise I'll always make it worth your while."

She shifted her body and dropped her head down and seductively drug her tongue along his lower abdomen, nipping at his smooth ivory skin with her teeth, then moved lower to land kisses on his spent member. She tasted the mix of his release with hers and smiled up at him.

"Really Penny? I think we need to shower before you kiss me there, don't you?"

She quirked her eyebrows up at him then giggled and said, "I don't know, I kind of like it, don't you?"

She squirmed and slithered her way back up his body and brought her mouth to his, "Kiss me Sheldon."

"No," he tried to twist away from her but he couldn't help that a deep, throaty laugh escaped his lips. "Germs Penny."

"But its good germs Sheldon…it's just you and me sweetie. Don't ya wanna kiss me?"

"No," he laughed, but pulled her into him and brought his mouth to hers, kissing her passionately.

"Ummm, I'm glad you changed your mind," she sighed as she snuggled closer to him after the germ ridden kiss.

"Well, Penny, I've spent the better part of five years wanting nothing more than to kiss you. It wouldn't be very logical to resist you now that I have permission to act on my feelings for you, would it?"

"Is that your way of saying germs be damned?"

"Germs be damned, yes."

"Five years?"

"Five years."

"Me too," she admitted, and then asked, "why'd you wait? Why didn't you say something?"

He cocked his head towards her, "Why didn't _you_?"

"Point taken," she sighed.

"Let's go dancing. I want to be with you…in public." He had no idea where this thought came from. He only knew he wanted everyone, the car attendant, the bartender, the band members, everyfuckingbody on the planet to know that they were together.

"What?" She had never heard him like this before.

"I don't know. I just want people to know that you belong to me."

"I do?"

"Don't you?"

"I don't know Sheldon. Do you belong to me?"

He rose up to get a better look at her and reached to touch her face, "Penny, I've belonged to you since the day I met you."

She smiled up at him, "Who are you and what have you done with Sheldon?"

"I'm still Sheldon. Maybe, because now I know that you return the feelings I have for you, I'm a better Sheldon. Maybe I'm Sheldon 2.0."

"My boyfriend," she sighed happily.

"Your boyfriend?" He wondered for a minute who the hell she was talking about.

"You Sheldon." She rolled her eyes and giggled.

"Oh. I've never been anyone's boyfriend."

"Well, you were Amy's boyfriend…sort of."

"Sort of best sums it up I guess. I was her boyfriend because I caved in to social pressure from our peer group."

"Yeah, and I almost caved in too with Leonard for the same reasons."

"I hope Amy will be okay with this. I don't really care about Leonard's feelings, but I don't want to upset Amy."

Penny smiled and teased her lips across his chest, "Amy gave us her blessing."

"What?"

"Yeah, she's the one that said people would have to be blind as a bat not to see what we have. She's known all along."

"Oh, so that's what all the bat questions were about last night? Hmm, Wolowitz said the same thing…about you and me."

"Huh. So I guess we were the last to know?" she laughed and kissed his neck and he moved closer to her and released a contented breath.

She popped a loud kiss on his cheek and said, "Alright, come on, boyfriend, get you sexy ass up and take your girlfriend dancing."

He pulled her back, "Shouldn't we take a shower first?"

She looked at the clock, it was getting late, and the band would only be playing for another hour or so. A wicked grin spread across her face.

"Nope. Just wipe yourself off and throw your clothes on. We are going to go out smelling like we just had sex. Step out of your comfort zone Sheldon 2.0. You are with a big 'ole five now. Welcome to my world."

"Good Lord."

But inside, deep inside of the new and improved Sheldon 2.0, he was happy as hell. He was going to love being a part of her world for the rest of his life. _Germs be damned._

**~73~**

The music was hot and Penny and Sheldon were hotter. Every note the band played floated through the air as if it were laced with cigarette smoke and whisky. Jazz and blues and sweet soul music. He held her with a confidence he'd never known in his life. They swayed to the old music, music from the twenties and thirties and forties. Old school. She was part giggle and part shiver as he pulled her close and whispered dirty thoughts in her ear, things he would do to her when they returned to their room. Things he'd dreamed of doing for years.

She felt like she had stepped back in time and was the star of some old movie and Sheldon was her leading man. He was smart and handsome and he had proven he knew just what to do to make her feel like a woman. She couldn't believe they had wasted so much time, taken so long to get here, to where they were now. But then again she had been around long enough to know that the best things, the very best things in life, were always the things that came slowly and were worked towards. Those years before this weren't wasted. They were the time she and Sheldon needed to establish their roots, the very foundation that their love was built upon. This, she thought, this man that held her, that brushed his lips across her neck, which pressed his manhood against her as they slow danced, he was the one. The one she had waited for her whole life.

They stayed until last call, until the band played their final song and until the lights were turned up and Sheldon had no choice but to remove his mouth from her neck. They made their way to the exit and Sheldon nodded towards the bartender as they passed by him. There would be no small talk about Kirk and Spock tonight. The barkeep returned a knowing nod and smiled, he had tended bar long enough to know that look on Sheldon's face. He'd seen it on thousands of men before.

"Guess he finally nailed her," the old barkeep laughed and said to no one in particular, "she's got him by the balls and he's loving every minute of it. Lucky bastard."

**~73~**

Sheldon could hardly get the door open because Penny was all over him. Her hands were in places that really should not be touched in public. But as usual, Penny didn't care. She was a free sprit. It was one of the many qualities that had drawn him to her. He was always so fucking logical but she was the yen to his yang, the positive to his negative. He was all brain and she was all heart and they were finding that it was the perfect combination.

"Take me to bed or lose me forever Doctor Cooper," she laughed as he turned to lock the door behind them.

"So you're Meg Ryan now, are you?" he said as he guided her to his bed.

She wrapped her legs around him tightly and ran her tongue across and into his ear. His body shuddered at the strange new sensation.

"And you're my Tom Cruise?"

"Meg Ryan wasn't with Tom Cruise in Top Gun. She was with that other guy."

"Stop being a know it all. You're supposed to be wooing me, remember?"

And he proceeded to woo her into the night, the rumblings of the train serving as the soundtrack to their lovemaking.

Penny decided she'd always take the train from now on. It was so much better than any airplane she'd ever been on. The Mile High Club was nothing compared to the Rail Riders Club.

And Sheldon's world? The world that he had spent his entire life perfecting was slowly beginning its descent into her chaos. He was slowly but surely coming undone. She was slowly but surely beginning to dismantle the universe as he knew it. One piece at a time. _Anarchy couldn't be far behind._

**~Chapter five is just around the corner. I'll post it up soon. As always, thanks for reading.~**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thanks to everyone for the reviews, follows and favorites. I haven't been able to reply to reviews as I like to because real life seems intent on interfering with my Shenny-ing. But please know that every one of your sweet comments is very much appreciated. You guys make me smile. Shenny forever!**

FIVE

~Penny and Sheldon are a Thing~

They changed trains in Chicago, and again in Washington DC. And somewhere between DC and Carolina he told her he loved her. She told him she loved him too, always had really, and they laughed at how juvenile it all seemed. _Them_, their arguments, their fights, their backing each other up when no one else would…_the love story of them_.

Penny teased him, saying that if they didn't slow down she wouldn't be able to walk when they got to the cabin with their friends and he reluctantly told her he would get his libido under control and she told him if he controlled his libido she would issue him fifty seven strikes. She liked Sheldon's libido very much, thank you. Very much indeed.

They made up for lost time all the way across America. And holy mother of fuck she didn't care if she ever walked another step.

**~73~**

Bernadette and Amy were waiting at the station for them. They had volunteered to fetch Sheldon and Penny because the boys were settled in for a marathon of online gaming and the girls were in dire need of fresh air. Besides, Amy had filled Bernadette in on her suspicions of Sheldon and Penny and there was no way either girl wanted to miss seeing them when they arrived. Howard had confided in Bernadette months ago that if Sheldon didn't hurry up and make a move on Penny that he was personally going to lock them in Sheldon's bedroom until he "grew some balls and fucked her." That was Howard, always the romantic. Cough.

"Hey, there they are," Bernadette squealed and pointed.

The two of them stood back and took in the sight of Penny and Sheldon. There was no denying that he walked with a new swagger and Penny glowed in a way that only a woman in love could. Amy sighed mostly to herself, but Bernadette heard it, just chose not to acknowledge it. What was the point? Besides, she had taken note of the way Amy and Raj had sat just a little closer the night before. (And the way Amy had gently settled her hand on Raj's shoulder that morning when she leaned over him to give him his coffee.) If anyone could coax Raj out of his selective mutism, it would be this brilliant neurobiologist. He had still sucked down a six pack before the night ended, but still. There was hope. And sometimes hope was all that mattered. Right?

"Hey guys," Penny waved as they made their way through the crowd.

"Hi Bestie," Amy pulled her in for a tight hug that lasted well beyond the acceptable number of Mississippi's but Penny was so happy to see her girlfriends that she didn't even really notice.

"So?" Amy stepped back and wagged her eyebrows up and down.

"Yeah. So?" Bernadette said and joined Amy in the raising and lowering of her eyebrows.

Sheldon blushed and then pretended to be adjusting something on his suitcase. Penny actually blushed too before finally nodding to Amy.

"You were right Amy," she said quietly, a bit of concern for her friend evident in her tone.

Amy, never one for subtleness, gushed, "I knew it! Congratulations!"

Penny asked Bernadette to go with her to the bathroom because she had told Sheldon that he needed to square things away with Amy once they saw her. She knew they had been broken up for awhile, but she also knew that Amy had once had real feelings for Sheldon. She had asked him to let Amy know that she was special to him even though they weren't meant to be together in a romantic way. And what girl didn't want (and need) to feel special?

"So, Amy," he started, fumbling around with his words, "I just wanted to say…"

She smiled and patted his arm, "You really don't need to say anything Sheldon. It's okay really. I understand."

"But I need to tell you that…"

She cut him off mid-sentence again, "I'm quite sure Penny put you up to this, didn't she? She's such a good friend and she wanted you to apologize to me."

"Amy, please. Let me speak."

She dropped her arms to her sides and stepped back.

"Go ahead Sheldon."

He took a deep breath, tried to make rapid organization of his thoughts and then spoke in such a soft tone that she had to lean towards him to hear.

"You were my first girlfriend and our relationship, strange and unconventional as it was, taught me so much. You, Amy Farrah Fowler, taught me so much. And so I'm not apologizing to you, because I don't believe either of us has anything to apologize for. I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for believing in me. For believing that I could be a good boyfriend and for standing by me, for not being embarrassed or ashamed of me even when others found it entertaining to mock me."

He cleared his throat and locked his eyes with her before continuing, "While I think we both can agree that we are not compatible as a couple, I think we have every necessary component required to maintain a long and lasting friendship. And I hope that you find a paradigm shift from boyfriend to close and cherished friend acceptable."

Amy nodded, "Thank you Sheldon. For the record, I agree."

He smiled and then confessed, "Penny did insist that I speak with you, clear the air, as she put it. But I would have found someway to express this to you on my own eventually without her direction."

Amy laughed, "Yes, in about five years maybe. Kind of like it took you almost that long to come to terms with and admit your feelings for Penny?"

He smiled at her, a genuine smile like she had never seen from him before, "Well, I'm working on that. Thank you Amy for being my sort of girlfriend. That experience helped me with Penny in more ways than I can tell you."

"So you are essentially saying you had to go through me just to get to her?"

"You made me strong and gave me courage that maybe I wouldn't have otherwise had, yes."

"Do you love her?"

"Yes. More than I ever knew it was possible to love someone. Yes, I love her."

"Then don't screw it up. You know how you can be."

"I am aware."

She reached to hug him and whispered, "Then it was all worth it. Be happy Sheldon."

"She makes me happy, Amy. And someday you will find the person that will make you happy. And I hope Penny and I are there to share in that joy with you."

They broke their embrace as Penny and Bernadette approached. Penny smiled and sent Sheldon a knowing wink. She reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze and whispered, "Feel better?"

"Immensely. You were right. Clearing the air is good for the soul."

"Told ya."

"Yes well, let's see if you still feel that way when you try to _clear the air_ with Hofstadter."

Penny laughed, "Yeah, Leonard is nowhere near the man Amy is."

"Hey, I heard that Bestie," Amy laughed.

"It was totally meant as a complement Amy."

"And I took it as such."

The ride to their mountain cabin was interesting. Amy and Bernadette gave a vivid description of their home away from home cabin. They said it was lovely and Bernadette deemed it dreamy. Sheldon and Penny shared a grin at the use of their train word…_dreamy_. The girls had heard from a local couple that the name of their cabin was Pleasant Valley. Apparently all of the mountain cabins had names. Go figure.

Bernadette drove the giant SUV that Howard had insisted they rent upon their initial arrival in North Carolina. He had firmly stated that if they were going to "live like real mountain men for the next two weeks, they were going to drive something that would prevent any of the locals from going all Ned Beatty on their asses." Raj had laughed at him and said what Howard really was doing by making them rent this giant all terrain vehicle was over compensating for where Howard lacked in "other areas." Howard fumed and Bernadette had smiled and assured them all that Howard was very well "compensated" in other areas thank you very much, and then Raj had gone off to Google Ned Beatty because of the way Leonard had winced and begged them not to mention that name again until they were back safely in California. After Raj read about Beatty's famous movie scene in Deliverance and the local mountain men, he knew he'd never look at pigs in the same way again.

Bernadette navigated the curvy mountain roads, Amy beside her, and Penny and Sheldon in the back seat. The girls filled them in on their first night in the cabin and described the on going battle over the four bedrooms. Of course Howard and Bernadette shared a room. Raj had stated from the top that he fully expected to be alone in a room, because you know, he was used to being alone. All. Of. The. Time. It was pretty pathetic and Amy had felt bad for him and had given him a warm, reassuring hug which he returned in kind.

"And that's when she reached down and grabbed his cute little Indian tushie," Bernadette reported, hunching over the steering wheel squealing with laughter.

"My hand slipped," Amy deadpanned before joining in with Bernadette's laughing.

"Ohhhhh, get you some, Ames!" Penny hooted from the backseat. She was sitting close to Sheldon, his arm draped behind her, resting on the top of the seat. She reached and gave his knee a squeeze and winked up at him.

"Some what?" he asked, his eyes curious as he scanned her face.

"Really Sheldon? After that, uh, eventful train ride across the country you ask me that?"

Bernadette and Amy howled with laughter. Bernadette tilted the rearview mirror to get a better view of Sheldon and grinned at him.

"Some of the same stuff I assume you got on the train Doctor Cooper."

"What? Pamphlets?"

Penny leaned over and whispered to him, he released a quiet "oh" and then turned a shade of pink that matched perfectly with Penny's sweater.

"Speaking of getting some," Bernadette ventured, "we need to talk about the bedroom situation now before we get there so the four of us can be on the same page."

"Yes," Amy said, "Bernadette and I have figured out a perfect solution that will make everyone, with the exception of Leonard, exceeding happy."

Sheldon shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He had assumed he would have his own room, because everyone knows that people don't go in his room. But now, he faced a dilemma he never would have guessed he'd have to confront. He really, really, God how badly he really, wanted to share a room with Penny. He wanted to sleep with her, he wanted to hold her, he wanted to have sex with her, and he wanted her to be the last person he saw before he fell asleep and the first person he saw when he woke up in the mornings. They had not discussed it on the train, but he was damn sure he was not going to spend the next two weeks of this vacation listening to the sounds of her and Amy giggling through the walls as he lay in bed trying to sleep. That was not acceptable.

He was about to say as much when Amy continued with the plan she and Bernadette had devised.

"Well, of course Howard and Bernadette, and we kind of figured you two would, um, work out your issues between California and here, so the two of you in a room…."

She trailed off and turned to look at Penny and Sheldon to ascertain if that was acceptable to them. The satisfied nod Sheldon gave her, combined with the way Penny's hand was trailing up his thigh and getting dangerously close to his, uh, nether regions was confirmation enough for her.

"Now that leaves Leonard, Raj and me. Of course the logical solution would be for the two boys to share a room, and then I would take the single, but…"

"But you wish to get you some?" Sheldon supplied from the back seat.

The three girls proceeded to laugh so hard that he had to remind Bernadette to keep her eyes on the road. He had been serious and he didn't understand why the three of them found this so hilarious. _Women_.

When Amy had finally composed herself enough to continue, she told them that yes, she wished to share a room with Raj and that based on the way he had snuggled with her under the blanket last night while they watched movies, she was quite certain he felt the same way. The problem was going to be, well, one Doctor Hofstadter. First, when he found out what everyone else already pretty much suspected, that Penny and Sheldon were in fact together, he may not take it so well. And second, well, really, who wants to be the odd man out?

"So," Bernadette peered at them in the mirror, "which one of you is going to drop this bomb on Leonard?"

Sheldon cleared his throat, "I don't see what the big deal is. He and Penny are no longer together, they terminated their relationship months ago."

"Yes, but everyone knows Leonard still has a thing for Penny. And this morning while we were having breakfast he said he couldn't wait until she got here, that maybe being away from Pasadena, in this beautiful setting, away from all the crap at home, maybe she'd finally want to be with him again."

Sheldon felt the blood rush to his face, felt anger and discontent like he'd never known before, and his arm involuntarily dropped onto Penny's shoulder and pulled her towards him. He had failed to take into account that his homunculus roommate still harbored feelings for their neighbor.

Sensing his displeasure, she gently patted his leg and popped a kiss on his cheek.

"I'll talk to Leonard," she whispered softly.

"No, Penny. I shall speak with him. We shall go Mano-a-Mano as the Spanish say."

But his voice broke and he gulped as he heard himself speak.

"Oh Baby," she cooed, "you're a lover, not a fighter."

"Ohhhhhhh," came the chorus from the front seat.

He couldn't help but grin; he felt a sense of pride wash over him. Penny, _his girl_, had just intimated to her best friends that he was her lover. He was Penny's lover. And she seemed…proud. _Damn_.

As it turned out, neither of them had to speak to Leonard. He figured it out on his own. He and Raj and Howard had gone out onto the front porch to greet them when they heard the SUV pull into the driveway. His first clue had been when Penny and Sheldon tumbled out of the backseat together. Sheldon rarely sat in the backseat. His next clue had been when he went to hug Penny and Sheldon shifted his body protectively towards her, forcing Leonard to awkwardly extend his hand and do a kind of weird handshake kind of thing. But it was when Sheldon had grabbed her bag to carry it for her and she said "thanks Babe"…Babe…she called him Babe?...that he knew without a doubt that they were together.

Sheldon and Penny were…_a thing_. Well, fuck.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Fair warning: This chapter is a little sick. I informed you thusly.**

**Sheldon's once perfect world continues its downward spiral into chaos and anarchy. **

CHAPTER SIX

~What Leonard Saw~

Sheldon and Penny went along with Amy and Bernadette's bedroom plan. Sheldon chose the large bedroom with a king sized bed and its on bathroom for him and Penny. He was great a picking the best of spots and this time was no exception. Howard and Bernadette remained in the room they had slept in the night before and Amy and Raj chose the upstairs bedroom because it offered the most privacy and Amy really, really, really was anticipating lots of private time with Raj. _Lots._

Leonard got stuck in the smallest bedroom that contained a single sized bed. It reminded him of the one he'd had in his college dorm room. Penny and Bernadette felt a little bad for him but really, what other choice was there?

That night they had gone out for dinner and then came back to the cabin to play games and warm themselves by the fire. It was much colder in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina this time of year than it ever was back home in Pasadena. Raj and Howard had somehow managed a roaring fire in the stone fireplace that was tucked away in the corner of the room. The girls had made hot chocolate and the group of seven_, three couples and Leonard_, had played board games and goofed around with a karaoke machine they found in the cabin.

Around ten o'clock, Penny and Sheldon claimed they were tired from their long train trip and were ready to go to bed. Of course they weren't fooling any of their friends, as everyone took note of the way Penny couldn't stop touching him and how Sheldon never ask her not to.

**~73~**

It was crack of dawn early. The sun was just barely awake herself, peering over the top of the trees in the distance as Leonard stood watching. It was peaceful and quiet here in these mountains. Nothing like Pasadena or even his boyhood home of New Jersey. There was no early morning traffic noise. No hazy smog blocking his view. No yelling or honking horns or beeping city garbage trucks blowing offensive odors into the air. It should have been nice. Instead, he was miserable. He was ashamed of what he'd done the night before. He wished there was some way to scrub his brain clean…

Leonard couldn't believe it. His asexual, giraffe looking, condescending, germaphobe of a roommate was involved with Penny. Penny, whom by the way, Leonard classified as basically the love of his life. How the hell had that even happened?

When he had first learned that she was going to be taking the train with Sheldon he had laughed. He had wondered why she would want to deal with wasting so much time to get to where they were going. And mostly, why she would want to spend that much time with a pain in the ass like Sheldon. He had told himself that if it had been any other guy but Sheldon, he would have forbid…forbade?...it.

But it was just Sheldon.

Sheldon Lee Cooper.

What universe was this?

He stood on the rear deck of the big log cabin they were renting and stared out into the vast horizon. The mountains looked as if they were burning with fire, the reds and oranges and yellows dusting the treetops and billowing down, casting a glorious show of nature's beauty. He'd been so sure he could use these two weeks to work his way back into her life, into their relationship. It was what they did…break up…get back together…break up…get back together. And the make-up sex…good God…he had so been looking forward to _that_. It was almost worth breaking up for that alone.

He wondered if Sheldon had even had sex with her. Did he even know how to have sex? Well, that burning question had been quickly answered when he'd heard them through their bedroom door last night. He knew how she sounded when she was…being pleasured…how loud she could be…how she moaned and screamed…Leonard had been passing by on his way to the kitchen to get a beer…to get a few beers, because dammit he needed something to kill the pain…when he'd heard them.

He was ashamed when he felt himself growing hard just listening to her moans, her panting, recalling images of how her body would respond…then he heard her scream his roommate's name. He was frozen, there in his robe, empty beer bottle in his hand, knowing he had an equally empty bed waiting for him down the hall. He stood in the darkness of this unfamiliar house, the fire in the large den smoldering as it burned itself out from the flaming beacon of warmth and comfort it had been just hours earlier before they had all decided to call it a night.

He couldn't help himself. It was as if some unknown alien being inhabited his mind and body. He leaned to press his ear to the door and damn if the door didn't ease open just a crack. Just enough for him to peer through and get a look at them centered in the huge king sized bed. The bed that prior to their arrival he had envisioned he and Penny on, him fucking her so good…just like the old days. Except now, he watched as Sheldon plunged deep inside of her. She was on her knees, legs spread, and he was scooted up so close behind her, his cock buried deep in her core. Leonard gasped, in terror, in disgust, in desire, in lust…as he watched the way Sheldon's hand caressed her breasts, the way his other arm dipped low, allowing his long fingers to rub and tease her clit, the way his ass moved in and out, back and forth, pumping his length into her.

Leonard leaned down and gently put his empty beer bottle on the floor against the wall and then listened as words he didn't even know Sheldon knew rolled off his lips. Words like pussy and cock and fuck and come and Penny responded with the same words, the same sexually charged language that made Leonard's cock jump against his boxers. He reached down with the intentions to push his arousal down, make it go away. Instead, he began to stroke himself. Actually stroke his length while he stood, head against the cold, hard wood of the doorframe, and palmed himself to near orgasm. He silently sucked in a deep breath as he listened to Penny's pleas for Sheldon to fuck her harder and faster and to Sheldon swearing that her pussy was so fucking hot. He grasp himself tighter and jerked harder and faster when Penny began to moan and gasp and tell Sheldon that she was close to coming and Sheldon plunged deeper, fucking her with such force that she screamed Sheldon's name when she came, and Leonard knew it because he remembered her sex sounds and because he imagined her muscles tightening on his dick, not fucking Sheldon's. And then as Leonard felt himself come on his hand, in his boxers, he watched as Sheldon lifted off three deeper, harder thrusts and came hard, with a low, sexual groan, into Penny's core.

He prayed his boxers and robe would absorb any evidence of his presence and he watched, still mesmerized, as Sheldon slowly pulled out of Penny and the two lovers collapsed into the center of the bed, Penny curled tightly against Sheldon, both of them kissing and nipping at the other.

It was painful for him to watch his so called best friend and roommate fucking his girlfriend (okay, ex-girlfriend if he had to be completely accurate) but it was what they said as they laid there in the afterglow that ripped his heart to shreds.

"I love you Sheldon," she whispered, just audible enough for Leonard to hear.

"I love you too, Penny. I always have," Sheldon sighed, pressing his lips into her shoulder.

Leonard stepped back, pulled the door closed quietly, tears in his eyes, semen coating his hand, and quickly made his way back to his lonely, single room. He was, for the first time since being a part of this particular social group, the odd man out. In a group that included tiny, creepy Howard Wolowitz and awkward, mute Rajesh Koothrappali and freak of nature, socially inept Sheldon fucking Cooper, he, Leonard Hofstadter, was the one without a woman.

As he made his way back to his bedroom, unbeknownst to him Bernadette stood silently in the darkened kitchen and watched until Leonard's silhouette disappeared into the shadows.

**~73~**

"Did you hear something?" Penny said, pushing up on her elbows.

"What?" his voice was groggy, still laced with sex, and he reached to pull her back down to him.

"You didn't hear that? You have Vulcan hearing Sheldon. It was like a door…like our door. Like I think it clicked or something."

"I thought you locked it," he mumbled as he sat up and looked towards the door.

"I thought you did," she said, alarm growing in her voice.

"God Penny."

"Go check it," she whispered.

"Why do I have to check it?" he questioned, leaning to plant a kiss on her back.

She giggled, "Because you're the man."

He sighed, kissed her one more time and then jerked his pajama pants on and walked to the door.

"Well, it's not locked," he said, then gave the door a quick yank and was surprised when it easily pulled open.

"It looks like it's not catching properly," he reported as he opened and closed the door a few times.

"Do you think someone opened it…maybe by accident?" she asked, grabbing for his Superman t-shirt and wiggling into it to cover herself.

He shuddered at the thought. Sheldon placed a high value on his privacy and the very last thing he'd ever want was someone, anyone, watching him and Penny in the bedroom. It was bad enough that _Penny _knew he was nothing more than a man like all the rest. A man that was easily aroused by his girlfriend and unable to fend off his primitive biological urges. In fact, he willfully surrendered to them, gave in to Penny, as often as possible. He actually liked…okay loved…sex with Penny. They had only shifted the paradigm of their relationship a few days ago, only admitted and given in to their feelings for one another on the train, but he found to his surprise (and to hers as well) that he was often the initiator of their escapades. But he sure as hell didn't want it to be common knowledge to anyone else. Even their closest friends. He did have a reputation to uphold. _Plus, he really didn't want his mother to find out._

"Good Lord. I certainly hope not," he replied as he reached for a chair and drug it over to prop in front of the door. He was quiet sure he would, uh, have a _biological situation_ in the morning if not during the night. He was after all, he reasoned with himself, on vacation. He'd worry about getting himself and his desires under control when they got back to Pasadena. _Right_.

"I will fix it in the morning," he said as he climbed back into bed.

"Thanks Moon Pie," she teased him.

He grabbed her and rolled her body over and onto the top of his.

"Just for that, you have to take a shower with me," he told her as he gently nipped at her neck with his teeth.

"Oh, such a harsh punishment," she giggled.

"And…you are wearing my Superman shirt so you also are being awarded two strikes."

"Two strikes, huh? So what does that bring me up to?"

"You are now at three hundred and seventeen. You may have to take the class Penny."

"Ummm," she brought her mouth to his, "so tell me about this horrible, awful, dreadful class of yours."

"Well," he sighed, reluctantly breaking the kiss, "it is clothing optional, although you will be granted extra credit if you chose not to wear clothes."

"Mmmmmmm," she trailed kisses down his neck, to his chest, across his nipples.

She knew this made him crazy horny.

"Penny," he sighed, "you are downright indecent."

"And you're not?" she mumbled, gently squeezing his semi-hard member.

"Let's get in the shower. Then I'll show you just how indecent I really am."

**~73~**

Bernadette rushed back to her bedroom, anxious to tell Howard what she had just seen. She was disgusted and angry and felt horrible for Penny and Sheldon that Leonard had violated their privacy…and jerked off…gross…and they didn't even know it. _Yet._

She had considered yelling out at him to back away. She had wanted to confront him in some way, but honestly, she was so appalled and besides, how does a girl confront a guy who is holding his dick in his hand?

She was disappointed to find Howard asleep, lying in his usual fetal position (probably dreaming of his mother she told herself and resisted rolling her eyes), and she contemplated waking him. She had to tell someone, there was no way she could possibly sleep without talking this out first.

"Howie?" she whispered, scooting close to him and giving him a gentle shake.

"I'm sleeping, Ma!" he shouted and she quickly clamped her hand over his mouth.

"Howard, it's not your mother. It's Bernie. Wake up."

When she finally had him awake and propped against the headboard, he looked at her and gave her a (smarmy) grin. (Well, it would be smarmy to anyone but Bernadette, but she loved him, so yeah.)

"Ah, my woman needs a little midnight loving I see. And I am up for the challenge," he laughed, nodding towards his tented pants.

"Howie, we need to talk. I have to tell you something."

"Wow. I don't know if I should be disgusted or turned on," Howard laughed after Bernadette told him what she had witnessed Leonard doing.

"So Leonard was peeking in the doorway watching Penny and Sheldon doing the dance with no pants, huh? It's about time Cooper got his act together. Damn. I wouldn't mind getting a peek at that myself. Based on the years of their verbal foreplay and all the building tension between the two of them, I bet the sex is off the fucking chart."

"Howard. Can you get your mind out of the gutter for a few minutes? These are our friends we are talking about. And I haven't even told you the rest."

He sat up, a gleam in his eye, and rubbed his hands together, "Oh, there's more? Continue."

She sighed, took a deep breath, shuddered as the scene played out in her brain, then spoke.

"Leonard was not only watching them. He was…masturbating while he watched."

She fought the urge to gag.

"Oy vey," he gasped.

"Yeah," she agreed.

"Bernadette, are you positive Leonard didn't see you?"

"Pretty sure Howard. I mean, he's standing there jerking off to them. He was pretty much wrapped up in his own thoughts. Then it was like he realized what he was doing and he quickly pulled the door closed and walked back to his room really fast."

"Then you need to just put it out of your mind. This is not something we need to be involved in. Nobody needs to know, okay? They are all three our friends, we don't want to have to choose sides. I know Sheldon, if he ever found out about his he would blow a gasket. He'd build some kind of gadget to torture and eventually kill Leonard. I want no part of the fallout of this."

"But Howard, Leonard really crossed the line here. I mean, what if it was us? What if your best friend…what if Raj…was secretly watching us and ewww…masturbating?"

"Mmmm, sounds kinda hot to me," he reached for her and she swatted at him.

"Really Howard? Nice."

"Oh, Bernie, I'm just kidding around."

"No you aren't."

"Okay, so I meant it. So you have a sexually adventurous husband. And that's a bad thing?"

"Seriously, I think they need to know. If I was Penny, I'd want to know. That's just such a violation. I need to tell her."

"You know what?" Howard said, moving closer to his wife, "let's just fuck and we'll figure everything else out in the morning, okay honey?"

She had to admit she was kind of horny with all the sexual energy radiating through the house. She rolled towards him, gave him full access to her body, and sighed. She'd figure everything else out tomorrow. Maybe talk it over with Amy. But for now, she needed her own release.

Everything always looked better in the light of day, right? _Yeah, right_.

**~73~**

"Dude, Bernadette saw you last night."

The unexpected voice startled him as it broke thorough the solitude of the crisp fall morning.

Leonard turned to face his friend. Howard handed him a steaming cup of black coffee which Leonard gladly accepted.

"What?" Leonard asked, holding his breath praying that this wasn't what he thought it was.

"Yep. She saw you jerking off while you watched them. What the frack was that all about man?"

"Oh God. I am so sorry. I don't even know why I did it. It just sort of happened and before I knew it…" his voice trailed off, overtaken with shame.

"Before you knew it, you had your cock in your hand and you were coming at the sight of Sheldon giving it to your ex-girlfriend?"

"Is she going to tell them?" He was terrified, waiting for the answer.

"I don't know. I told her not to…to just let it go. But you know how womenfolk are. She said Penny needs to know, all that foo-foo bullshit the gals chatter on and on about. I'm going to try to hold her off, but I don't know. She's busting a gut to tell Penny. And I bet you anything she'll at least tell Amy before the end of the day. You know women can't keep their traps shut."

"God."

"Yeah. If it gets back to Sheldon the shit will surely hit the fan."

"Damit. Howard, I don't know what got in to me. You know that is totally out of character for me. I'm not that kind of guy…not that kind of friend."

"Oh hell, Leonard. Between you and me and those chipmunks out there under all those trees, I have to tell you…I would have done the same thing. I don't see anything at all wrong with what you did."

Leonard met Howard's eyes and he couldn't help but take note of the creepy grin crawling across Howard's face.

"Gee, that makes me feel better Howard."

Leonard shook his head, trying to shake the memory of Sheldon and Penny out of his mind…trying to forget about his inappropriate reaction. _God, his mother would have a field day analyzing this one. She'd probably even write a book about it. Needy Baby, Greedy Baby part 2…Lonely Man, Use your Hand…or something like that. He could see it now. Great._

"No, really, Leonard. Stop acting like a chick. I mean really, any guy would have done the same thing if the truth is known."

"So you are telling me, if you had been in my place last night, just walking by and heard them going at it, and the door _accidentally_ opened, you would have watched? You would have jerked off?"

"Hells yeah, brother. Damn."

"Oh God."

"No, just hear me out. I mean, I'll be honest with you, I've always wondered about Penny…you know…how she is in the sack. I've even, well, thought about her in the shower a few times if you get my drift."

"Really Howard, I don't think I want to hear this."

"Well, you should. I'm trying to make you get over your guilt. We've got twelve more days here on vacation and I don't want you to whine and pout your way though it. So I'm trying to make you feel better. Just buck up, man up and get the hell over it."

"So you think I'm overreacting? It's not a big deal?"

"Yep. As long as Sheldon doesn't find out, it's no big deal. You were just being a guy, it's what any normal red blooded dude would have done in your situation."

"I guess," Leonard said slowly, "but I do feel bad about it."

"Well, you should feel bad Leonard."

Both men turned to see Bernadette coming out of the house. She turned and pushed the sliding glass door shut behind her, taking extra care that it was securely closed.

"Oh Bernadette," Howard twisted around, leaning towards her to pop a kiss on her check, "I was just reprimanding Leonard for that horrible, terrible thing he did last night. I told him how disgusting it was and how if he promises not to ever do it again that you and I will just keep it to ourselves and won't tell Penny or Sheldon."

She glared at her husband and stepped past him and peered into Leonard's face.

"Do you really feel bad about it Leonard?" she ask quietly, blushing at the thought of what she had seen him doing just hours earlier.

"Yeah, I do Bernadette," Leonard returned her blush, his a darker shade because of the humiliation of being caught, literally, with his pants down, dick in hand. Could it get any worse than that?

"Well, then I think the only thing you can do is apologize and hope your friendship with them is strong enough to allow them to forgive you."

"What?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry Leonard, but I've made up my mind. I have to tell Penny. You know the 'Bro Code' you boys talk about sometimes? 'Bros before Hoes?' Well we girls have our own code you know. 'Chicks before Dicks'…look it up."

"Bernadette…please. Come on," he pleaded, looking to Howard for help.

Howard just threw his hands up and shrugged. He knew when to step back and let his wife speak.

"Sorry Leonard. I'll do what I can to help you. I do believe you feel bad for what you did, how you violated their privacy, but just because you feel bad doesn't mean you are off the hook. I was thinking that your best bet would be to get Sheldon alone and confess to him while I am telling Penny. Because if you don't, then as soon as I tell her, the first thing she will do, well, after she kicks you in the balls, is tell Sheldon. And then God only knows what he will do if he hears how upset she is. Maybe if you tell him yourself, let him know how bad you feel, and I'll make sure Penny knows you feel bad…I don't know, maybe it will soften the blow. At the very least it will test the strength of your friendship with them."

She turned and scrunched her face at Howard and then went back into the house.

"Howard, I thought you were on my side. Thanks for the support," Leonard mumbled sarcastically.

"Well, Bernadette lets me have sex with her. You don't. I know where my loyalties lie my friend."

He jokingly grabbed at his crotch and laughed.

"Thanks…_Bro_," Leonard sneered at him.

**~73~**

Sheldon and Penny found Raj and Amy having breakfast in the kitchen as they strolled in to figure out a Sheldon approved breakfast for themselves. Penny noted the glow on Amy's face along with the giant toothy grin that Raj wore. No doubt they had consummated their relationship last night. Apparently Raj had been able and willing to do what Sheldon had not; quell the raging hormones of Amy Farrah Fowler. She might finally be able to retire her electric toothbrush or at least use it for its intended purpose of you know, actually brushing her teeth.

Sheldon couldn't help but feel a part of something special. For years he had see that look on Leonard's face with various women in the mornings in their apartment. Now he stood in this mountain cabin wearing the same look of satisfaction. He was part of a couple. He had a girlfriend. _He was getting some and it was good._

"Good morning guys," Bernadette said as she came into the room.

"Hey Bernadette," Penny smiled at her, "were you just outside?"

"Um, yeah. Howard and Leonard are out on the deck. We were just enjoying the stunning mountain view we have from there."

"Oh, that sounds nice. Would you like to join them my brown sugar Indian prince?" Amy grinned up at Raj.

While he still would not speak in front of the other women, his friends did notice that he seemed to have no problem whispering in Amy's ear.

"Oh. Yes." Amy stroked her hand through her hair and looked up, "No, I guess we won't be joining them. My new boyfriend," she looked at Sheldon when she said this, "wants to engage in sexual intercourse again before we start our day. We will see you all in approximately twenty-seven minutes."

Raj leaned in and whispered frantically in her ear.

"Excuse me, my mistake. Forty nine minutes."

They stood to leave, Raj grasping Amy's hand in his.

"Wait," Bernadette said while she had all her girls together in the same room, "I, um, noticed some neat little shops on the main street yesterday when we were going to the train station. How would you girls like to have a girls day out? We could check out the shops, maybe have lunch?"

"Sure, sounds great Bernadette. How about you, Bestie?"

Penny looked up at Sheldon. She knew he wouldn't be crazy about separating from her as they were still so new in their relationship, but she had already explained to him that she wanted to spend some time with her girlfriends on this vacation. She had also impressed upon him that he too should spend some time with just the guys. Especially Leonard. She knew he probably felt bad about the fact that they were now together. She would never want their relationship to come between Sheldon and Leonard's friendship.

"Fine," Sheldon nodded. He wasn't happy with the arrangement, but he understood it to be the expected social convention. Besides, if it made Penny happy, he'd do it. It had already occurred to him that he'd walk through fire barefoot if that's what it took to keep a smile on Penny's face. _God. When had he become the exact replica of so many men he'd previously held in contempt? Oh right, the first time he felt what it was like to be inside her. That's when. Damn._

"Great!" Bernadette clapped her hands together, "We'll leave in an hour."

She waited until both couples had returned to their rooms before she went back out onto the deck.

"Okay, Leonard. We girls are going into town later. Howard, you make some excuse to do something with Raj. Then when you are alone with Sheldon, that's when you tell him."

Leonard let out a long, slow breath, "Alright. Thanks, I guess."

"Better you than me dude," Howard grinned, then slung his arm around his wife and they turned, leaving Leonard alone on the deck.

_How the hell does a guy tell his best friend, especially a whack-a-doodle freak of nature like Sheldon Cooper, that he jerked off to him and his girlfriend having sex? How the hell do you do that? Shit._


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: ****From the beginning, this story has been about the unraveling of the perfect world Sheldon has attempted to create for himself. A world untouched by human nature, reality and…_normalcy_. The nice, neat little cocoon he's created for himself is being peeled away, layer upon layer by Penny (whom he has fallen madly in love with) and his closest friends. It's about how, in his mind, chaos, bedlam and anarchy are nipping at his heels. And at the end of this journey, maybe he learns to accept people as they are, enjoy life and just live. _Just live._**

******Writing fanfic is a dicey endeavor. If you're still with me, thanks...I appreciate all the comments. I continue to learn from you all! **

SEVEN

~He was a Lover, Not a Fighter~

Penny had an armful of clothes and was searching for a dressing room. Amy and Bernadette were sitting in the shoe department with boxes stacked around them debating if it was too cold in the mountains to wear open-toed flats.

"Hey girls," Penny yelled to them, "I found it. I'll be in the dressing room trying on all these clothes that I can't afford. If I'm not out in an hour come and rescue me!"

They laughed and waved to acknowledge her. When Bernadette heard the door to the dressing room bang shut she grabbed Amy's arm.

"We have to talk."

"Ohhhh, now that I'm part of the exclusive sexually active club I get to be included in these whispered discussions."

"I don't know Amy, after I tell you this you may wish you could revert back to your innocent days."

"Mmmm, sounds juicy. Spill it Bernadette," Amy said as she rubbed her hands together with anticipation.

After Bernadette confided in her about Leonard, Amy's face had fallen and it shone with a glossy bright tinge of red.

"Well that is unacceptable…but also kind of hot."

"Yes it is," Bernadette said, "unacceptable, that is. She felt a bit better that she had finally told someone other than her 'sexually adventurous' husband.

"So are we going to tell her?"

"Well, don't you think she needs to know? I mean, I've already decided to tell her. And I made Leonard swear that he would tell Sheldon while we are out of the house. Leonard does feel bad about it, as he should. I just hope Sheldon will react like a mature man and not like some evil villain that tries to blow Leonard's brain up."

Amy laughed and said she thought, as gross as it was, everything would be just fine.

"Really Amy? You sound almost as bad as Howard. Am I the only one disgusted by this? Am I the only one who feels like Leonard really did a bad thing here? Why are you laughing?"

"Well," Amy said, putting on her best neurobiologist face, "it does date back thousands of years, Bernadette. You know, human nature, sexual curiosity. No, I don't like what Leonard did, and yes it was wrong. But unforgivable? Hardly."

"What?"

"All I'm saying is Sheldon and Penny should have done a better job of making sure their door was secured."

"Sure, blame the victims Amy."

Amy sighed and patted Bernadette on the arm, "Bernadette, Penny and Sheldon are, well perfect specimens of the human race. Why it took them this long to hook up is beyond me. I can only attribute it to Sheldon's delayed puberty and Penny's hardcore competitiveness that they made it this long before jumping each others bones. But really, have you never imagined the two of them together? I bet it is a sight to behold."

"Amy! God, what are you saying?"

"What I guess I'm saying is, I don't blame Leonard. I don't think I could have torn my eyes away from watching those two either. Hoo."

Amy fanned herself with the lid of a shoebox and closed her eyes tightly. Bernadette didn't _even_ want to know the images that were dancing through her friend's dirty, dirty mind.

Bernadette was about to put up an argument with Amy when she heard her text tone go off. She dug through her purse until she found her phone.

The text was from Howard:

ABORT! ABORT! WALL OF SILENCE!

She quickly replied:

Why are you typing in all caps? And what does your message even mean? Abort what?

DON'T TELL PENNY ANYTHING ABOUT LAST NIGHT. WILL EXPLAIN WHEN I SEE YOU.

Bernadette rolled her eyes and dropped her phone back into her purse.

"Well, looks like crisis averted for now. Howie says not to tell Penny. Something must have happened with the boys."

"Good. I don't want to cast a shadow over our girls day out. Now let's get Penny and go have lunch. If we're lucky we'll catch her in a state of undress."

"God," Bernadette sighed, "and if we do you will watch?"

"Well of course. I won't be able to tear my eyes away."

**~73~**

Sheldon had been working on the door jamb when he saw the beer bottle. It was just outside his and Penny's room, leaning slightly against the wall, propped by the thick pile of the carpet. He knew instantly it was Leonard's. His roommate was the only one that drank this particular brand.

"Leonard," Sheldon said as he dropped down on the opposite side of the sofa from his friend, "would you care to explain this?"

Sheldon held the bottle up, swinging it between his long thin fingers.

"Uh, it's a beer bottle? Beer comes in it. People drink beer. I don't know what you are looking for Sheldon."

Leonard shifted in his seat, he was actually quite sure what Sheldon was getting at, as the sight of the bottle reminded him had had put it in the floor the night before.

"Well, Leonard," Sheldon's face began to twitch, "I found this particular bottle outside of my bedroom. The room I share with Penny."

Leonard felt his entire body go cold. His hands were clammy and his eyes jumped from Sheldon's face to the television to the trees just outside the window.

"What…what are you getting at Sheldon?"

Sheldon took a deep breath and cleared his throat, "What I'm saying, Leonard, is that last night Penny and I thought we heard someone at our door. I checked it and it wasn't locked. It was late and we were…_busy_…and so I told her I would deal with it today. I was just working on the door when I found this propped just outside our doorway. Would you like to explain what you were doing lurking outside our door last night?"

The sweat beading around Leonard's hairline and his constant tugging of his glasses gave him away. Sheldon knew before Leonard even spoke that he had indeed been outside their door.

Sheldon attempted to calm himself, tried to prepare for whatever confession Leonard was about to make.

"I'm sorry Sheldon, I really am. I just, I was on my way to the kitchen and I heard you and Penny in there and I don't know, I just stopped and listened. It was like someone else was in my body. I don't know why I stopped."

"Did you open the door?"

The crimson stain Sheldon wore on his face put Leonard on notice that he should tread lightly.

"No. Well...sort of, yes...I mean, I didn't turn the handle and open it, I guess it was broken or something, I barely touched it and it popped open. I swear to you. I didn't intentionally open it."

Sheldon's hands were balled into fists and he pushed them under his legs in order to keep them in control, to not use them on Leonard. Not that he really would since he hadn't a clue how to physically attack another person anyway.

"What did you see?" his voice broke, dreading Leonard's answer.

"Sheldon, please. Let's don't do this. You know what I saw. I'm embarrassed, I'm sure it's embarrassing for you, but do we really need to talk about it? I feel bad enough. Can we just forget about it? I swear it'll never happen again."

"You…you watched Penny and Me? You saw us engaging in coitus?"

Sheldon felt like his brain was going to blow straight out of the top of his head. He'd never in his life experienced such an invasion of his privacy.

Leonard's face matched the coloring of Sheldon's and it's probably what saved him from Sheldon lunging across the sofa and choking him.

"Really Sheldon, I apologize from the bottom of my heart. I'll do anything if you'll just forgive me and we can move on. It was a horrible thing for me to do and I swear to you there is nothing you can say that I haven't already said to myself. Please just accept my sincere apology."

"Leonard," Sheldon took a deep breath to steady himself, "you of all people know the high value I place on my privacy. And Penny? Do you have any idea how humiliated and embarrassed she would be if she were aware of this?"

Sheldon was standing now and the fists he had been sitting on were now banging into the sides of his outer thighs. His first instinct was to clobber Leonard but Penny's words from the day before echoed in his mind, "You are a lover, not a fighter." He had taken those words to heart. He knew Penny had had enough fighters in her life. Men who thought physical violence was the solution to every problem they encountered. Besides, the honest to God's truth was that Sheldon didn't have the first clue how to conduct a physical altercation. Nor did he care to know.

Leonard lowered his head, but not before Sheldon noted the tears glistening in his eyes, and spoke softly.

"Do you want me to leave Sheldon?" He lifted his gaze up to meet Sheldon who now towered over him, and said, "I'll catch the next flight back to California if that's what it'll take for you…and Penny…to forgive me."

Before Sheldon could answer him, the massive glass door slid open and Raj and Howard noisily stumbled their way into the room. They had both had a few more grasshoppers than they needed and were giggling like two drunken schoolgirls. They froze when they saw the scene in front of them.

"Oh hell," Raj snickered, "Sheldon knows Leonard was whacking off to him and Penny last night."

"Damit Raj," Howard punched him in the arm, "we aren't supposed to talk about it. Bernadette left strict orders. I only told you because you're my 'bestie.'"

The two intoxicated friends found this last statement so hilarious they fell to a heap on the floor laughing and rolling into one another. They both began yelling the word 'bestie' to each other at the top of their lungs and thus evoking further screams of laugher. Raj swore he had just peed himself and that forced more uncontrolled hysteria from Howard.

Sheldon's eyes moved from his two out of control friends back to his roommate as his mind rapidly processed what Raj had said.

"Whacking off? Leonard, what the hell?"

He felt his legs going numb and he slumped down onto the sofa and glared at Leonard.

"God. This nightmare just keeps getting worse. Yes, Sheldon. I had had a few beers, you know, just drowning my sorrows, so I was a little…tipsy. And then I heard you guys, and then saw you guys and the next thing I knew…well…yeah. I swear to you, as humiliated as you are, multiply it by a zillion and that's where I am. I wish the earth would just open up and swallow me."

"Who knows about this?" It was the only thing Sheldon could think of to say.

"Well, obviously those two clowns over there, Bernadette…because unbeknownst to me she watched the whole embarrassing incident, and I would suspect by now she has confided in Amy. And she made me promise to tell you and she is going to tell Penny while they are out at their girl's luncheon date or whatever it is they are doing."

"What? No. I need to tell Penny. It will kill her if she hears this from her friends. It has to be me. When was she going to tell her?"

"I don't know. Ask the drunken astronaut over there."

Sheldon stood and moved toward Howard and yelled his name. Howard sat up and offered him a sideways grin.

"Damn Sheldon. Rumor has it you are one hot sex machine."

Sheldon gritted his teeth, "Ah, trash talk, always found at the bottom of every liquor bottle. Get up Wolowitz."

He bent and grabbed Howard by his arm and pulled him to his feet.

Howard giggled and said, "Sheldon's not a virgin anymore."

"Howard, are you capable of calling your wife and demanding she not tell Penny about any of this…this…insanity that Leonard has perpetrated?"

Howard dug deep in his pocket and jerked out his cell phone, "I can't talk to her, she might suspect I've had a little bit too much too drink. I'll text her to abort the mission."

"Fine," Sheldon huffed, "just do it now before you pass out."

After Howard sent Bernadette the text, he dropped his phone and then rejoined his 'bestie' on the floor. Sheldon glared at the three of them and then stormed back to his and Penny's bedroom, slamming the now repaired door behind him. He had to figure out some way to break this to Penny.

_Hell's bells, how was he going to tell Penny about this madness? It seemed to Sheldon that chaos was the rule of the day. _


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Thank you guys so much for your interest in this story and for your kind words as well. I love the feedback and I am constantly learning from everything you are saying. Some of you have great ideas and believe me I am filing them away for future use. I wrote this story over the past couple of months so it is already complete and I can't change much about it or I'd have to rewrite the whole thing and I don't have that kind of time! Some of you suggested a girl for Leonard, well, you'll be glad to know that happens in this chapter. **

**Just to comment on the situation with Leonard and why he watched Sheldon and Penny: I have really enjoyed all of the very different views from you guys. As I wrote that scene, it kind of creeped me out, but I had a couple of objectives in mind. One thing, I wanted a love/sex scene with Penny and Sheldon but not a typical one. So I was thinking, what if the reader saw it through the eyes of another person? And that person had to be Leonard because of his relationship with Penny and Sheldon. I think it just put a different perspective/spin on your typical Shenny bedroom scene. So I guess it was, as some of you told me, kind of creepy and kind of hot all mixed together. :)**

**Also, another objective of that scene was to show just how out of control things can get when a person is hurt (Leonard), to what extent their mind will take them and how far they may step over a line that they normally wouldn't cross. I don't think Leonard would premeditate watching them, but given the right set of circumstances (he had been drinking, he was upset about Penny being with Sheldon, he stumbled across them together accidentally, meaning he didn't set out to find them in a compromising position) he found himself doing something he otherwise would never take part in. I don't know, to me it's just an interesting study/observation of the human condition. **

**Also, as you read this next chapter and Penny's reaction concerning Leonard's indiscretion, keep in mind that from the beginning I've stated that I want this fic to be about love and acceptance and inclusion. So I can't make that statement and then have Penny and/or Sheldon stab a knife in Leonard's thorax. (I know some of you would love THAT! LOL) I think I'm just going for the overall feeling that we live, we love, we screw up, we forgive and we move on. That's what I want for this group of people. Well, that and for Sheldon and Penny to be canon. Ahhhhhh….**

**Thanks for your time!**

EIGHT

~Leonard Meets (another) Woman~

"We're home," Amy said in a sing-songy voice as the girls came through the front door.

The house was quiet except for the low volume coming from the television. Upon further inspection the girls found Raj and Howard passed out sleeping on the sofa, their heads at opposite ends of the couch with their legs intertwined along the middle section.

Penny snorted, Bernadette rolled her eyes and Amy whispered, "Oh, homoerotic, nice."

"Gross, Amy," Bernadette hissed at her as she bent to shake her husband awake.

"Come on Howie, rise and shine."

Howard rubbed his eyes and sat up and Raj began to stir. Amy bent to land a kiss on Raj's forehead and whispered something just enticing enough to cause him to twist his body around, get up and follow her to their bedroom.

"Where's Sheldon and Leonard?" Penny asked Howard.

"Uh, I don't know. Raj and I were watching tv and fell asleep. I don't know where they are."

"Well, I'm going to put my things away and see if Sheldon is in our room. See you guys later."

Bernadette eased down onto the sofa beside Howard and ran her fingers through his thick strands of hair and smiled at him.

"So you and Raj tied one on, did ya?"

He sighed, "Yeah, it was a doozy. And Leonard fessed up to Sheldon just so you know."

"Oh God. How'd he take it?"

"Better than we thought he would, I think. But we, well mostly Raj," he smirked, trying to look innocent, "were kind of drunk so I don't really know. But last I saw he went off to his room."

"Well what was that text about?"

"I don't know. When Sheldon found out, he made me text you to not tell her. He said he needed to be the one too tell her. Something about she would be embarrassed in front of you and Amy. I don't know. Hell, I just want this to be over with. This is vacation. I don't need this drama."

"I know," she sighed and leaned into him, "we'll be lucky if we can get past this and enjoy the rest of our time here. It's such a nice town, the mountains and trees are beautiful, we need to be out doing things. I just hope Penny and Sheldon can work this out with Leonard."

"Yeah," Howard mumbled before he pressed his eyes shut and returned to sleep.

**~73~**

"Hey Babe," Penny said as she entered the room, seeing Sheldon stretched out across the center of the bed. She pushed the door shut, noting he had repaired it.

"Hello Penny. Did you girls have a nice day?"

He sat up and scooted back, leaning into the headboard of the bed.

"Yes, it was great. Look at this cute dress I bought."

He smiled at her as she held the dress close to herself and whirled around.

"It's almost as cute as you."

"Is that your feeble attempt at flirting with me?" she laughed and turned to hang the dress in the closet then crawled up the bed and settled in beside him. He dropped his arm around her shoulder and leaned to plant a quick kiss on her check.

"Ah, you can see straight through me," he said and released a breathy laughed.

"So where's Leonard? We found Raj and Howard out there passed out on the sofa like two frat boys but there was no sign of your roommate."

Sheldon shrugged, "I don't have a clue. He and I had a…well, an argument and I came in here and closed the door. I haven't seen him since."

"Oh no, I hope you guys weren't arguing about me…about us. But I'm sure this is difficult for him. I do feel bad for him, but he'll get over it."

"So exactly how bad do you feel for him?"

She turned to look at him and scrunched her face.

"What's that mean? How bad do I feel for him? I don't know, just bad I guess."

"The reason I ask…well, I need to tell you something and you aren't going to like it very well."

"Oh God. What happened now?"

He reached for her hand and held it tightly in his while he informed her of what Leonard had done. He waited for the blowup but none came.

"Oh." Penny blushed and shook her head and then lifted her eyes to study his face.

"Yes, and apparently everyone in the house is aware of this turn of events. It seems that Bernadette actually saw him," Sheldon cleared his throat then continued, "in the act, as it were. Of course she told Howard, and I presume Amy as well. Howard told Raj."

"Oh God," Penny said, shaking her head and clinching her fist. "How embarrassing. So, If Bernadette and Amy knew this, why didn't they tell me?"

"Well, that was the plan. I put a stop to it. I wanted to be the one to tell you. I knew you would be embarrassed in front of your girlfriends."

She smiled and reached to cup his chin, giving his face a gentle squeeze.

"You're a good boyfriend."

He pulled her hand to his mouth and drug his lips across it, then cocked his eyes up to meet hers, "I try."

"Well, thank you for that. I really wouldn't have wanted to have that discussion with them. Especially in front of Amy. You know how, um, excited she can get about sex stuff."

"I am very aware," he laughed, glad that wasn't his problem any longer.

"So are you okay?" she asked, processing the news of what Leonard had done. She had to factor in how far Sheldon had come since they had left California. She didn't want anything, even Leonard's idiotic crap, to be a set back of Sheldon's progress in their relationship. She quickly came to the conclusion that her response to Leonard's indiscretion could very well set the tone for the remainder of the trip.

"Me? What about you? I've been sitting in here worried about how you would take this disturbing bit of news and you just say 'oh' like it's not big deal?"

"Well, it's embarrassing…and gross…but I guess I can see how it could happen. I don't like it, but I guess I can understand it. I sort of feel bad for him."

"Really Penny? I am sickened by this turn of events and yet you tell me that you feel bad for him?"

"Well, it makes me sick too. It's disgusting. But what are we going to do? Kill him? Beat him to death? Call the police? I mean, I think you and I know him well enough to know he has to feel worse than anything we can do to him."

Sheldon released her hand and slid off the bed. He began pacing around the room, turning occasionally to look at her.

"I don't know Penny. He was out of line."

"I agree, sweetie. He was. And I'll make sure he knows how wrong he was. Although I'm sure he already knows."

"So let me see if I have this right," he turned to look at her, "I go from never having coitus to in a matter of mere days, making love to you all the way across the country, then we get here and our friend watches us engaging in sexual congress and I'm supposed to be okay with it?"

"Sheldon, I didn't say we have to be okay with it. I'm certainly not okay with it. All I'm saying is Leonard did a shitty thing. But he's still our friend and he screwed up but I don't know, sometimes you just have to forgive people. That's all."

"And you're telling me you can forgive him?"

She cleared her throat before she spoke, "Yes. It's not easy, but yes. I don't think we have any other choice. At least not any other choice I could live with."

"Because he's our friend?"

"Because he's our friend, yes."

"I'm sure us being together is difficult for him," Sheldon said, seemingly coming around to Penny's way of thinking. _Thank God_.

"Well yeah, I mean, the guy has to be feeling bad because well, his ex-girlfriend and his best friend are together now. And everyone here in the house is coupled up except him. And you know how he is Sheldon. It's all about the relationship for him."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, think about it. You never really cared about dating. And Raj and Howard mostly just fooled around looking for sex. Neither of them had a real girlfriend until Bernadette came along. And Raj and Amy just hooked up since we've been here. And the one person who has been on a constant hunt for a real relationship, the one that put more importance on it than any of the rest of us, is the one who is here with no one. It's just…sad."

"And that excuses him from spying on us, from…pleasuring himself while he watched us?"

"Ewww, well when you say it that way…gross. And no, there are no excuses. He'll have to live with himself and that will be his punishment. And I am pissed off that he did that and I'll tell him. But you know, he's human. I guess given the right circumstances anyone of us could do something stupid. Hopefully not _that_, but something else just as stupid."

Sheldon raised his eyebrows at her and she laughed, "Okay, anyone of us except you, Doctor Perfect."

"He pleaded with me to forgive him. He even offered to fly back to California."

"No. I mean, he's a pain in the ass, but he deserves a vacation. We need to talk to him Sheldon. We have to tell him we forgive him."

"Penny, it was a violation of…"

"I know, I know, a violation of whatever, but still. He's our friend. Didn't you ever do anything that you felt bad about? Didn't you ever do anything that you needed forgiveness for?"

"Well, nothing like _that_," he huffed as he walked to the bed and moved back into place beside her.

"The way I see it, we have two choices. We can go hunt him down and have it out with him, raise hell, tell him off, make him feel worse than he probably already does."

"Or?"

"Or," she said, going dangerously high as she slid her fingers along his inner thigh, "we can stay here and hang out in bed for the next few hours."

"Penny, that's hardly fair," he said, feeling the beginnings of his arousal.

"What? Fight or make love? Your choice Doctor Cooper."

He groaned as she began to palm the growing bulge in his pants, then twisted towards her and pushed her down flush with the mattress, covering her body with his, "Mmm, make love, definitely make love."

"Very good choice," she mumbled as his mouth found that spot on her neck that made her crazy.

"Did you lock the door?"

**~73~**

Leonard sat in the empty coffee shop and nursed his steaming hot latte. After Sheldon had stormed off Leonard had called a rental agency and had them deliver a car to the cabin. The girls were in the SUV but there was no way Leonard was going to sit around and wait for them to return.

He checked the flight schedule and discovered there wasn't another flight back to the west coast until late evening. He'd have to go back to the cabin and collect his things. He thought about just leaving everything there and having Howard and Raj pack it up and bring it back with them but he knew he couldn't fly without his inhaler so there was no choice but to go back.

He assumed that Penny knew by now. He wondered what she thought of him. Was she repulsed by him? He wouldn't blame her if she was. He was sort of repulsed by himself.

"Hey, aren't you one of the guys staying at the Peaceful Valley house?"

His eyes shot up, colliding into the hazel and gold flecked eyes of the woman that stood next to him. He scanned her body, taking extra notice of her tight faded jeans and her gingham shirt that was unbuttoned a tad too low, exposing a more than ample cleavage. Her brunette hair was pulled back in a flowing ponytail and her teeth looked extra white against the outline of her lipstick stained ruby red lips.

"Uh, yeah, the vacation cabin…I think that's what it's called…Peaceful Valley…it's what the brochure said."

"Yeah, that's it. Nice place. I live right up the road from there."

"Oh, so you're a local?"

"Yeah, I was born here, plan on dying here. Love the Carolina sky and mountains too much to leave."

He smiled at her, "I understand. It's a beautiful place. Very quiet. I like it."

"I'm Sunny by the way," she smoothed her hand across the leg of her jeans and then extended it towards him.

He reached up and shook her hand, "Leonard," he squeaked out.

Two coffees and an hour later she knew everything about him…well everything that he wasn't ashamed of.

"So you had an argument with your friends, huh? Not such a great thing when you are on vacation. Those should be reserved for when you're home and neck deep in the day to day crap of regular life. But certainly not on vacation."

"Yeah, it's pretty crazy."

"So don't tell me what it's about. I don't want to know. I've formed a pretty good opinion of you up to this point, no need to blow it."

"Don't worry. Wild horses couldn't drag this out of me. I'm not telling," he tried to laugh, maybe there was hope for him after all.

"So you need a room for the night? Just to get a break from your buddies? I've got a spare bedroom if you need it."

He raised his eyebrows and squinted to get a better look at her, "So do you go around offering up your spare bedroom to every guy you meet in this coffee shop or is there something really special about me?"

She laughed, "Well, neither really. Don't flatter yourself. My family owns a bed and breakfast. We rent rooms out all the time. No funny business. Just happen to have a vacancy tonight but folks are coming in tomorrow so you'll have to vacate. I just thought it would take the heat off for one night. Just trying to lend a helping hand, that's all fellow. Don't get any funny ideas."

"Huh. So this is that southern charm I've heard about."

"Yeah, something like that I guess. Look, I've got to get back, my aunt is manning the desk. She's going to kill me for being gone so long."

She reached into the backpack she had worn in and fished out a card.

"Here's the address and phone number. It's just about a mile from the house you are in. The offer stands, just let me know so I don't, you know, run into another fellow and take him in. I'd hate to see you lose the room."

He stood and took the card, "Go ahead and book it for me Sunny. I do need to take the heat off for the night. I'll go grab a few things and be there in a couple of hours. And thanks again."

After she had gone, Leonard paid the tab and drove back to Peaceful Valley. He prayed the whole way there that it would indeed be peaceful when he arrived.

_Leonard no longer cared to pop, sparkle and buzz electric. All he really wanted to do was get the hell out of Dodge before he had to face Penny._


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: It's almost midnight as I sit here playing around with this chapter. There were two episodes of TBBT airing on TBS when I first settled down to work on this. Of course it distracted me. This chapter has been written since last month, all I need to do is shine it up, upload and post it for you. My house is quiet as I am the only one up at this time. The late shows are on now and I'm debating if I should go in my kitchen and put water on for hot cocoa (thus defeating my five mile jog from earlier in the evening). My feet are cold and I'm sleepy but I can't go to bed until this is done and until I read a couple of chapters of The Paladin Protocol that I started on yesterday. (It's my second time reading The Paladin Protocol because let's just all be honest, it's the best Shenny fic on the web.) Earlier, I read the taping report for TBBT this week and thank God wolfofsheep warned me to brace myself. I felt sick as I read it. If you haven't read it, don't. If you have read it, I feel your pain. Here's chapter nine.**

**I wish you all, dear readers, warm feet and hot cocoa. **

NINE

~The Women Hold the Power~

Sheldon and Penny were swaying on the swing that hung from thick metal chains attached to the ceiling of the porch when Leonard pulled into the driveway. After a few minutes of some sort of old west stare down, he finally got out of the vehicle and slammed the door. He figured he might as well face the music. She stepped off the porch and met him halfway. Time to just get it over with, take whatever junior rodeo shit she was going to throw at him and then grab his bag and head over to Sunny's bed and breakfast.

Penny could sure raise some hell. She showed him no mercy as she verbally tore into him for what he had done. All Leonard could do was hang his head in shame and agree with everything she said. And apologize profusely. Sheldon stayed on the porch leaning on the banister, his arms stretched gracefully across the top railing. He figured he'd already said all he had to say to his roommate, now it was Penny's turn. He found that watching her tear into Leonard like that, watching her defend their privacy, well, it was kind of a turn on. He resisted the desire to grin as his eyes rested on her backside, the way her ass kind of rocked from side to side as she got all up in Leonard's business and shook her finger in his face.

Leonard had sworn he was more humiliated than she and Sheldon should be, and swore on his love for science that it would never happen again. She told him she accepted his apology and that they didn't want him to go back to California. He was still their friend, warts and all. He told her he would not go back but that he was staying at a bed and breakfast for the night just to give them all a break from this embarrassing incident. He thanked her, grateful for her forgiveness.

Leonard had to pass by Sheldon on his way into the cabin to get his things. He stopped and locked eyes with his roommate, nodded towards him, mumbled a 'thank you' to Sheldon and then quickly went inside. Penny climbed the stairs back onto the porch and shot a sideways look at her boyfriend. He started to move towards her and she held her hand up to stop him.

"Sheldon Lee Cooper, don't you think for one minute that I don't know that you were staring at my ass the whole time I was talking to Leonard."

She fought hard not to laugh.

"But Penny," he half whined, "it's such a nice ass. And it's mine."

She shook her head and stepped towards him, leaning her body into his. He snaked his arms around her waist and cupped the cheeks of her ass in his hands. She trailed her tongue up his neck and then whispered in his ear "yours and only yours Moon Pie" and he could hardly maintain any shred of decency about them when she moved her hand lower and stroked him gently.

"Penny, you are downright scandalous."

"Says the man who is holding my ass in his hands."

They heard the door slightly creak as it was pulled open. Howard and Bernadette stepped out.

"You guys were mad at Leonard for watching you last night but you're standing out here for God and everybody else to see that you are one step away from doing the nasty on the front porch?"

"Howie!" Bernadette exclaimed and jabbed him in his ribs with her elbow.

"Well, I told you they'd do it like bunnies when they finally got together."

Sheldon reluctantly released Penny and kept her in front of him while he made an effort to adjust himself. Penny giggled, thinking of all the barriers she and Sheldon had kicked down since this trip had begun.

"We just came out here to see Leonard off. He told us he was going to stay with some chick he met in town. Amy and Raj are on their way and Leonard's coming with his bag."

Penny laughed. Leonard hadn't mentioned there was a girl waiting for him at this bed and breakfast place he was going to. She should have figured that one out. She was glad he had found someone to spend time with. A happy, satisfied Leonard meant no emo music, no pouting and no pity parties. He would always land on his feet; always find some woman to copulate with. _He was a virtual Mack Daddy…right._

Leonard finally came out with his duffle bag and Howard walked to the car with him. A moment later Raj and Amy came out. Raj carried a plastic zippy bag full of condoms and waved them at Leonard.

"Rajesh, when I told you to put them in a bag for him, I didn't mean for you to put them in a clear sandwich bag so everyone could see them," Amy scolded him.

Raj smiled at her, waved the bag of condoms in the air and stepped off the porch, walking over to join Howard and Leonard. Penny looked up at Sheldon.

"Are you capable of walking over there? I think maybe you should join the boys for a minute and see Leonard off. Make sure he knows there are no hard feelings."

She reached back to where he stood and gave him a gentle tug. He rolled his eyes and reminded her that he didn't particularly care for maudlin expressions of male comradery and bonding. She told him that if he planned on getting lucky later that night he needed to play nice with his boyfriends. That was all it took to get him moving towards the boys.

Bernadette and Amy laughed and joked about how they could get their guys to do just about anything if they made the right promises to them. _Yep, the women held all the power._

"Well," Leonard laughed as he climbed into his car, "I'll see you pussy whipped bastards later."

"Come on Leonard," Howard grinned at him, "you know you're just jealous."

"Yeah," Raj added, "I like being pussy whipped. It's nice."

Sheldon rolled his eyes, refusing to participate in such vulgar conversation, choosing instead to wish Leonard well and pat him awkwardly on the shoulder.

"Aw, Sheldon, don't act so innocent. You and Penny are the worst of us all," Raj teased him.

"Gentlemen, I refuse to discuss mine and Penny's sex life with you."

"Dude you don't have to, you were about to do her on the porch when Bernie and I walked out. You can't keep your hands off her."

"God," Leonard said as he turned the ignition, "I don't want to hear any of this. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

**~73~**

The following day, Leonard brought Sunny to the Peaceful Valley cabin to introduce her to his friends. And to get the rest of his things. Yep. He had put his moves on Sunny, it had been successful and he would be staying with her the rest of their time in North Carolina. She owned a small cabin behind her family's bed and breakfast inn. The fact that he had hit on this new girl came as a surprise to absolutely no one.

It helped that they now had a local person in their group. While she and Leonard spent their nights alone at her place, during the day they all hung out together. Sunny was able to take them around to the best spots in town. They saw the sights, shopped the shops and hung out at night in the best pubs. The girls readily accepted her into their group, she was kind, quick witted and most importantly, really seemed to like and appreciate Leonard without all the California crap they had to deal with back at home.

It was turning out to be the best vacation they could have imagined. And Sheldon didn't hesitate to point out that he was the one who chose the location. When they got tired of listening to his bragging about how right he had been, Penny would lean over and purr promises in his ear of what she wanted to do to him that night if he'd just stop talking. It always shut him up. And it was a win/win for everyone because really? Truth be known…she was going to do all of that to him even if he didn't shut up. Because, well damn…

**~73~**

"Oh, that's nice," Bernadette sighed as the massage therapist kneaded away the tension in her neck.

"Um hmmm," Amy exhaled from the table next to her, "and the best part is I have some sweet brown sugar to go home to after this."

"Amy!" Bernadette giggled, but really, she knew exactly what Amy meant as the handsome man massaging her worked his hands across her shoulders and ask if there was anywhere particular she needed him to focus on.

Penny and Sunny were sitting next to each other getting a pedicure after having already enjoyed their massages. Their feet soaked luxuriously in warm silky water and both girls were relaxed in large leather chairs, their heads lulled back in a state of relaxation that only a day at the spa can offer.

"So," Penny ventured, rolling her eyes towards Sunny, "you and Leonard, huh?"

Sunny nodded, "Yeah, he's really a great guy, isn't he?"

Penny laughed, "Yes, he's a special one. I'm glad you guys found each other so early in our trip. It's great that he's having a vacation fling. Kinda romantic, like the beginning of Grease or something, remember that? John Travolta and Olivia whoever…I can never remember her name. Um, Sandy and Danny, right?"

"Yeah, Sandy and Danny. I love that movie. I even saw the Broadway play when I was in New York a few years ago."

"Oh, lucky you! I love the theater."

Sunny met Penny's eyes and gave her a shy smile, "I think it may be more than a vacation fling for Leonard."

Penny's eyes widened, "What?"

"Yeah, I know, it's only been a few days, but it feels…different. He says the same thing."

Penny didn't mention to her that Leonard said that about every relationship he'd been in.

"Oh. Well, you know we'll all be leaving to go back to California in a week. And California is a long way from North Carolina."

"I know," Sunny sighed, "but, well, if I tell you something can I trust you to keep it a secret?"

"Of course," Penny said, wondering how the hell she could possibly keep a secret about Leonard and his love life from her girlfriends or from Sheldon.

"He's…well, he's thinking about staying."

Penny jerked around so quickly that water splashed onto both their clothes.

"What? But, he has a job and a life in Pasadena. He can't just not go back."

"Yeah, that's exactly what I said to him when he told me last night."

Penny shook her head and released a deep breath. She wanted to tell Sunny about the time Leonard planned to move to India to be with Priya but she figured it was really none of her business. She and Sheldon had asked…no, _demanded_…that Leonard stay out of their relationship business and she figured it best to show him the same respect.

"Oh, well, I guess you guys will figure it out," Penny said, hoping Sunny didn't sense her wariness concerning their relationship.

"I know you think it's crazy. I can tell by your reaction. And maybe it is, but don't you think he deserves a chance to be happy?"

Penny reached and took Sunny's hand, "Girlfriend, you have no idea how much I want Leonard to find the right girl and to be happy. I want nothing more for him than for him to be happy."

"He told me about you guys, you know. About your relationship. And about how it killed him when he found out about you and Sheldon."

"Oh."

"Yeah, you know Leonard is a talker."

Penny giggled, "Yeah, I know. He just lays it all out there doesn't he?"

"He does. But you know what; I like that for a change. Most guys I've known try to be mysterious, act like they're deep or something, want to keep stuff bottled up inside. Leaves a girl trying to figure out if she's doing something wrong or if he's just an asshole in general. With Leonard, at least I know where he stands and where I stand. It's kind of refreshing."

"Well, just remember, Sunny, that wound, the one concerning Sheldon and me, it's still fresh. Just, I don't know, take it slow. You seem to be a really sweet girl. I'd hate to see you get tangled up in his recovery. I know it's hard on him, this thing with Sheldon and me, and I'm glad you are here to help him through it. Just, you know, guard your heart, that's all I'm saying."

"But, you're okay with it? With Leonard being with someone else? No residual feelings on your part?"

Penny sighed and released Sunny's hand, twisting her body to make sure she met her eye to eye, to leave no doubt in her new friend's mind about the words she was about to say.

"Sunny, I am so incredibly, deeply, passionately, and forever in love with Sheldon Cooper that any feelings I've ever had for Leonard or any other guy almost seem laughable now. Sheldon is…well, he is my everything. What I feel for him, God, sometimes I wonder if I'm just going to wake up from some incredible dream and never have this feeling again. Like my heart will be missing a piece forever if he's not really with me."

Sunny laughed, "So I guess the answer to my question is no. You have no left over feelings for Leonard."

"You got it! I wish you two the best, whatever happens. But you don't ever need to worry about me. Sheldon is the only man I want to be with."

"Thanks Penny. I'm glad we were able to have this talk. It means a lot to me that you opened up like that. And I'm glad that you and Sheldon have such a good thing."

**~73~**

"Oh my God," Penny hissed as the three of them stood in the driveway waving goodbye to Sunny as she backed her car out, "I have to tell you something about Leonard and Sunny."

"What, did he ask her to marry him already?" Amy laughed as they walked toward the house.

"Almost," Penny said, grabbing Amy and Bernadette's arms, causing them to stop and turn to look at her.

"This is serious, you guys."

"What is it Penny?" Bernadette encouraged her to go on.

"Well, she told me not to tell, but…"

"But you couldn't wait for her to leave so you could tell us," Amy nudged her, "Go on, Bestie, spill."

Penny shook her head and continued in a hushed tone, "She told me Leonard is thinking of staying here with her. Not going back to Pasadena with us when we leave."

"Oh God," Bernadette sighed, "_Leonard_. He would fall in love with a zebra if we went on a safari in Africa."

Penny laughed at the absurdity, but the truth, of Bernadette's comment.

"Yeah, tell me about it. He's kind of pathetic."

"Yes, his mother really did a number on him when he was a child," Amy chimed in.

"So what are we going to do?" Bernadette asked.

"Well," Penny said, "I don't know if it is our place to do anything. I mean, he's a grown man. He's smart, educated; he has to figure this stuff out for himself."

"Penny, we're talking about Leonard 'needy baby, greedy baby' Hofstadter here. I say we tell the guys and have them talk to him," Amy offered.

"Yeah but I told Sunny I wouldn't tell anyone."

"But you told us."

"Well I had my fingers crossed. Besides, she's only known me a few days, why is she confiding in me? I'm not her girlfriend."

"Preach it Bestie," Amy said and Bernadette rolled her eyes.

"I say we just kind of keep our eyes open for a few days and see what happens. I mean, maybe it'll blow over. Leonard's bound to say something stupid sooner or later and Sunny will drop him like a hot potato. Problem solved," Bernadette suggested.

"Sounds like a plan ladies," Penny smiled, then added, "Now let's go in there and find our men. We need to drag them out into the sunshine."

_Leonard and his women_. Penny could write a book. It was becoming clear to her that he was the type of man that had to have a girlfriend, _any_ girlfriend, in order to validate his mere existence. She wondered if she should rally the troops to help him, or let him fall on his face once again and maybe learn a valuable lesson. She'd have to think about it.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I loved writing this chapter. It's cheesy and fluffy and I don't even care. I wrote it a month or so ago and just re-read it today. It made me feel happy all over again. It's the essence of what I want this story to be. **

**As always, thanks so much for the sweet comments. You guys are the best.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own or earn from The Big Bang Theory or any of the songs or lyrics quoted here. Nor do I own any of the artists mentioned (though I've seen some of them in concert, so yeah, there's that).**

CHAPTER TEN

~Of Guitars and Bonfires~

The heavy smoke billowed up into the dark night sky. The orange and yellow and red flames danced around with bright hot blue. The musky warm scent of burning wood permeated the air and tiny sparks cracked and popped around the fire pit.

The four couples gathered around, seeking warmth, poking marshmallows that drooped from the ends of wire coat hangers towards the heat.

Penny snuggled close to Sheldon and stretched up to smooth her lips across his cheek.

"Penny," he sighed, "I know it is difficult to control your urges, but save it for when we are alone."

"Oh Sheldon," she laughed, "You know you like it."

He smiled down at her, "That's the problem. I do like it. Too much. And if you choose to continue, I may be the one whom is incapable of controlling my own urges."

"Oh Shelly Bean, just relax, here, have a beer."

He rolled his eyes but twisted the cap off the beer and clinked it into the one she held, "Must you continue to insist on complete bedlam? It's the beer that will end up getting me in trouble."

"Sheldon," she sighed, "are you having fun? Are you relaxed? Are you glad you are here?"

He sighed, "Yes to all. I find that despite myself I am enjoying this…this anarchy which you seem to have thrust upon me."

"Then shut up and kiss me."

And he did.

"Hey, you two," Howard yelled towards them, "knock it off over there. This is a group activity. No making out," then in his smarmiest tone ever he said, "but we can have a big bonfire orgy if anyone is interested. Anyone?"

"God Howard," Leonard said, taking hold of Sunny's hand, "you're going to scare Sunny away, she's not used to your creepy sex crazed comments yet."

Sunny laughed, "It's okay, I know he's just joking."

Raj tilted his beer towards her and grinned, "Yeah, and if you think he's just joking you still have a lot to learn about your boyfriend's friend."

"Totally not joking," Penny chimed in and rolled her eyes.

"Hey, that's my husband you guys are talking about," Bernadette spoke up, then looked over at Howard and added, "But yeah, he's not joking. Sorry."

They had enjoyed a huge meal that the girls prepared and were now sprawled out on blankets around a fire pit in an open field just beyond Peaceful Valley. It was in every way the perfect autumn vacation in the mountains of North Carolina.

"Hey," Amy said, "look what I found in the closet while I was searching for books earlier. Anybody know how to play it?"

She produced a well worn guitar and ran her hand over the distressed wood of the body, her fingers lightly plucking the strings, sending waves of sound vibrating through the air.

"We're scientists," Raj said, "not musicians. Sorry."

"I play a little," Sheldon said softly.

"Of course he does," Leonard muttered under his breath before knocking back the rest of his beer.

Penny squeezed his knee and encouraged him to play for them. Besides, is there anything sexier than a man with a guitar strapped across his chest? Um, no. And the best part was he was _her_ man.

Amy passed the guitar to Sheldon and they watched in anticipation as he strummed it slowly, twisting and tightening the strings until he had it tuned to perfection. He took another pull off his beer in an effort to, as Penny had said, loosen up a bit. He knew she was right, it would take a certain amount of alcohol to give him the courage to sing and play guitar for his friends. He found that she had yet again used her feminine wiles to push him out of his comfort zone. He was finding he kind of liked it this way. He'd never been happier in his life. Penny's brand of mayhem wasn't so bad after all he supposed.

"Where'd you learn to play guitar?" Bernadette's voice cut through the cool stillness of the chilled night air.

"Well, one doesn't grow up in Texas without a few encounters with a guitar here and there. I never had any formal lessons. My dad used to play. I guess I just learned along the way."

"Play something for me cowboy," Penny giggled, taking a swig of her beer and moving to lie back on the blanket she shared with Sheldon, propping herself on her elbows to get a better look at him.

She watched as his long lean fingers worked the strings, sighing happily to herself.

"I'm not very up to date on current popular music," he said, a twang in his voice as he absent mindedly stroked the strings, "I'm mostly familiar with some old stuff. My mom used to love the Beatles. She had a huge crush on Paul and John until Jesus came along and kicked their asses. Then she tossed their music and it was Amazing Grace from that point forward."

They all giggled at him sharing his boyhood memories. They quieted when he began to strum a familiar tune and then he sang softly, his deep and somewhat hesitant voice riding the night air.

"When I find myself in times of trouble,

Mother Mary comes to me,

Speaking words of wisdom,

Let it be…

Let it be, let it be

Let it be, let it be

Whisper words of wisdom,

Let it be.

There will be an answer,

Let it be…"

The group was mesmerized as Sheldon played and sang, his voice and his confidence growing as he shared his hidden talent with them. Penny swore to herself that she couldn't love this man anymore than she did right at that moment. He already owned her, of that she was sure, but now, witnessing this rare moment of him exposing such a vulnerable part of himself like this to their friends sealed the deal for her. She was head over heels, forever and always in love with one Sheldon Lee Cooper.

When he finished the song, he shyly cast his eyes towards Penny, seeking acceptance he supposed, while the rest of their friends whooped and clapped and urged him to continue.

Penny pushed up and drew near him and whispered, "Baby that was amazing," and kissed him softly on his cheek.

He smiled, pleased to discover that no one was making fun of him.

"Well, this one is for you guys…my friends…I heard it on Penny's ipod. It's by some friend of hers named John Mayer," he shot his eyes over at her and grinned, "you listen to him quiet a lot I see. Should I be worried?"

"Sweetie, John Mayer can't hold a candle to you."

He swigged another large gulp from his beer (and made a face at her, indicating it would be his last) and then grinned and strummed the guitar.

It was the first time he'd confessed to peeking at the music she listened to so frequently on her ipod. It was funny, she thought, no one had ever bothered to care about that before.

"It's called Waiting on the World to Change. It reminded me of us, of scientists, when I first heard it," he blushed and added, "I thought about all of you as I listened. This is for you."

Penny watched as he cleared his throat, swallowing hard, causing his Adam's apple to dance prominently along his neck, and then he began to sing.

"Me and all my friends

We're all misunderstood

They say we stand for nothing and

There's no way we ever could

…So we keep waiting,

Waiting on the world to change

We keep on waiting

Waiting on the world to change…"

They cheered when he finished and Howard lifted his beer in the air and bellowed, "Here's to changing the world," and they all drank to it. It was nights like this, memories like this, and friends like this that would last a life time. And if anyone could change the world someday this was the group that would do so.

"This is another one from Penny's assorted friends on her ipod. I deleted and changed some of the words, because really Penny, some of them were just ridiculous."

He adjusted the guitar, smiled at her and began to play.

"I'm broke but I'm happy

I'm poor but I'm kind

I'm tall and I'm healthy, yeah

I'm sane but I'm overwhelmed…"

He stopped here and looked up at them, laughing and said, "I know I'm sane because my mother had me tested. That wasn't in the song but I wanted you all to know it."

They all exchanged knowing looks and laughed and he continued,

"I'm lost but I'm hopeful baby

What it all comes down to

Is that everything's gonna be fine fine fine

'cause I've got one hand in my pocket

And the other one is giving a high five

I feel drunk but I'm sober"

He paused and reached for his beer, took a slug of it and handed it to Penny and said, "Slightly sober, I think," and then continued to sing but not before Penny pointed out that he had consumed less than one beer. _He could be such a drama queen sometimes._

"I'm young and I'm underpaid

I'm tired but I'm working, yeah

What it all comes down to

Is that everything's gonna be quiet alright

'cause I've got one hand in my pocket

And the other one is", he glanced around, laughed and sang,

"Writing on a white board…"

Everyone laughed and he continued,

"And what it all comes down to

Is that I haven't got it all figured out just yet

'cause I've got one hand in my pocket

And the other one is giving the peace sign…"

"Penny may be turning me into a hippie," he stopped long enough to speak and then looked at her and said, "but I don't, nor will I ever_, _give the peace sign." They laughed and offered him a knowing nod and he continued singing.

As he played his acoustic version of the old tune, Sunny produced a harmonica and joined in on the rhythm. Leonard grinned at her with pride. _Huh. Turns out Penny wasn't the only one that had a partner who could carry a tune. _

With the encouragement of his friends spurring him on, he offered up a few more songs, by now Sunny was wailing away on her harmonica and the group was singing along with him. The lateness of the hour blended nicely with the feeling of connection, of belonging that this group, problems, issues, and all, felt towards one another.

Sheldon was getting tired and his voice was becoming a raspy imitation of itself.

"This is the last one. And it's just for Penny."

"Awwwww," Bernadette and Amy cooed.

He gave her a lazy, lustful wink and grinned as he began to sing.

"Well I'm shameless

When it comes to loving you

I'll do anything you want me to

I'll do anything at all…"

"Oh God," Leonard moaned, standing up and reaching for Sunny. She stopped playing and allowed him to pull her to her feet. "I'm not staying here for this, let's call it a night."

"But neither one of us can drive," Sunny giggled, "I think we've had too much to drink."

"There's an extra room. We'll stay here, they won't mind."

The two of them waved and made for the house. He could take no more of Sheldon's unabashed declaration of his love for Penny.

"You know I'm not a man who's ever been

Insecure about the world I've been living in

I don't break easy, I have my pride

But if you need to be satisfied

I'm shameless

And I'm changing'

Swore I'd never compromise

Oh but you convinced me other wise

I'll do anything you please..."

He stopped long enough to lean down and press his lips to Penny's. She brought him in closer, accelerating the kiss from a soft closed mouth one to the kind that he preferred to save just for when they were alone. But on this night, this night of an awakening of sorts, he allowed his mouth to follow her lead. Until Howard cleared his throat. And Raj said, "Dude, keep singing, you're warming the women up for us."

Penny giggled into his mouth and pushed him away, shrugging and motioning for him to go on, "Sing it to us, Garth," she laughed.

"It's just for you," he reminded her, then resumed the song.

"I have never let anything have this much control over me

I work too hard to call my life my own

And I've made myself a world and it's worked so perfectly

But it's your world now I can't refuse

I've never had so much to lose

Oh I'm shameless…"

When the song was finished, he lifted the guitar over his head and tossed it aside. Forgoing all modesty, he stretched toward Penny and pushed her back onto the blanket, lowering himself onto the warmth of her body, kissing her madly.

"Uh, I think that's our cue to go in," Howard said, grabbing Bernadette and heading for the short path that led back to the cabin.

"Yeah, us too. Come on Amy," Raj giggled, stumbling as he got to his feet, grabbing Amy to steady himself.

"I'm shameless for you Penny," he whispered, his hot breath sending chills across her body.

"Sheldon, maybe we should go inside," she said in between kisses.

"No," he asserted, "I like it out here." _Kiss_. "With you." _Kiss_. "Beside the fire." _Kiss_.

"Oh Shelly Bean," she whispered.

"I think the alcohol you forced me to partake of has lowered my inhibitions," he said as he trailed kisses down her neck.

She giggled, "Sheldon, you had like half a beer."

"Shhhh," he said, putting his index finger across her lips to shush her, "That's what I'm using as my excuse to seduce you."

"Seduce me?" she sighed.

"Yeah," he pushed out, "do you want to be seduced Penny?"

"Yes," she managed to squeak out before his lips crashed into hers again.

She melted into the feel of his hands roaming her body, touching her, pressing against her, moving between her thighs and up to her aching need. "Sheldon," she whispered and he responded with "Mmmmm." That was good enough for her. He pushed at her sweater and then smoothed his fingers along her exposed abdomen before lowering his head to let his lips take over. She felt him trail his fingers along the waistband of her jeans before slowly dipping inside her pants and moving out only long enough to fumble with the button and zipper. He crawled back up her body and gently nipped at her neck, moving upwards to whisper naughty words in her ear…words she had come to love hearing him speak in the heat of their passion.

She could feel him growing harder, pressing and rubbing himself against her as she snaked her arms around his waist and slid her hands into the back pockets of his pants, squeezing his ass through the fabric. "You're so hard," she sighed because she knew how much he loved to hear her say it. "For you," he responded and she felt his body tremble above her.

His fingers were cool from the night air but they warmed quickly against the heat of her skin. He eased his hand into her now undone pants and pressed softly against her thighs, his thumb stroking her just where she needed. She reached for his arousal and gave him a gentle squeeze, earning her a shameless groan from him. "You're wet," he moaned and when she said "you make me wet" he made her repeat it because he could never hear it enough. She groped for another blanket and pulled it over them before turning her attention back to him.

She pushed his shirts up and his pants down, dropping wet sloppy kiss across his exposed flesh and slowly led her mouth to his rigid member. His hips bucked towards her and he tried with all of his might to control himself. She smiled up at him and said, "Let go of it baby, lose control for me." She licked at the glistening tip and smiled when he inhaled a deep breath and relaxed into her touch. His hands went to her head and she began to take him into her mouth. He groaned as she started to suck him, riding his erection with her mouth. He stopped her before he could come and she looked at him and smirked as she slithered back up his body.

"What do you want Sheldon?"

"You, I want you Penny."

"What?" she teased him, grinding against him roughly.

"I've got to be inside you. _Now,_" he growled, sounding more like a Texas cowboy than a highly regarded theoretical physicist.

"Oh God," she whispered, burring her head in the crook of his neck before releasing her hold on him just long enough to kick her shoes off and shimmy out of her jeans, shivering a bit as the night air touched her flesh. She was thankful for the concealment the darkness provided.

She adjusted the blanket and pulled it up to cover them both from the chill of the night and the possible watching eyes of their friends. They had all retired to the cabin but she knew with that group she could never be too sure.

They snuggled under the blanket, warmed by the fire and each other.

"So are we going to just, um, do it out here?" she asked, almost shyly.

"Yes. Just like the hippies we apparently are," he said, his voice raw with desire.

_Fascinating._


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: This was a fun chapter to write. I could so see this happening in an episode. Well, in an episode where the freaking Shenny actually existed. _Dammit_.**

**Thank you guys so much for the reviews and comments. You are all invited to my place for turkey sandwiches and pumpkin pie. Happy Thanksgiving! **

ELEVEN

~Hot Apple Cider and Blueberry Cobbler~

"Hey," Sunny clapped her hands together as they all sat around the large table in the dining room of the cabin, "today's Saturday! The town is having an apple festival in the square. They do it every year; it's a lot of fun. You guys want to go?"

"I've never been to an apple festival," Raj said, sipping on a concoction of orange juice and vodka "Are there costumes? I call Granny Smith!"

They all stared at him and then he added, "Amy, you can go as Red Delicious!"

"Ewwww," Penny laughed, pouring coffee and nudging Sheldon.

"Oh please," Bernadette grinned at her, "After what we heard you and Sheldon doing out by the fire last night, you are the last person that needs to ewwww anything."

"Oh God," Sheldon said, ducking his head down and blushing before mumbling to Penny, "You see? That's why I don't consume alcohol."

"You weren't complaining last night Sheldon. I'm just saying," she giggled and swiped a kiss across his pink cheek.

Leonard rolled his eyes and looked away. He felt sick.

"Sorry, no costumes, Raj. But there are local bands playing all day and tons of food. Barbeque, chicken, burgers, you name it, it will be there. Lots of apple themed food too like cobbler and pie and caramel apples, even apple vodka, my personal favorite that I only get to drink once a year. There are carnival rides, arts and crafts made by local artists. It's fun and everyone around here goes out for it."

"I do enjoy a good cobbler," Sheldon said and Howard seconded the love for cobbler.

Sunny winked at Sheldon (Penny noticed and didn't particularly like it) and asked, "So we're going?"

"It sounds great," Leonard said, standing up and grabbing her hand.

**~73~**

"Damn, did you guys check out those hot chicks over there dancing?" Howard said, pointing towards the dance school competition.

"God, Howard," Leonard shook his head, "they aren't even out of high school. And you're married."

"Well it doesn't hurt to look," Howard retorted. "Besides, Bernie is the only girl lucky enough to get some of this," he laughed and swiveled his hips suggestively. "She's one lucky lady." He bumped Raj with his shoulder and nodded towards the girls.

"Not for me, dude. I have Amy now. She's all the woman I can handle," he smiled and stepped away from his friend.

"How 'bout you Sheldon? Seems you've found your mojo on this trip. You're having more sex than the rest of us combined."

"Yes," Sheldon glared at him, "while I appreciate your interest in my sex life, I can assure you that Penny is the only mojo, to use your vernacular, that I am interested in."

"Really?" Leonard said, raising his voice, watching in disgust as Raj unwrapped a caramel and peanut coated apple and sunk his teeth into it, "do Sheldon and Penny's bedroom activities have to be a constant course of conversation now? God! I remember when we used to talk about important things like science."

"Umm, this is good," Raj interjected, munching on his newfound sweet treat, "it tastes almost as good as Amy."

"Oh God," Leonard groaned before turning and walking away, leaving his three friends staring after him.

"What's his problem?" Howard said, pushing himself onto his tiptoes to get a better view of the dancers.

**~73~**

"Where's Sunny?" Penny asked, looking around behind them.

"I don't know. She said something about finding the boys. Maybe she was missing Leonard," Amy smiled as she looked through the handmade jewelry spread out on a table in front of her.

Bernadette strolled towards them wearing a bright colored scarf and carrying several more in her hands.

"Hey, look at these. Local people made them and they are prettier, _and cheaper_, than any I've ever found in stores back in California."

The girls enjoyed shopping the local wares and after making a few purchases, they settled at a picnic table with a bag of homemade fudge and coffee.

"Hey," Leonard said as he approached them. He flopped down on the bench beside Penny and grabbed a piece of the fudge.

"What are you doing walking around alone? I thought you were with the guys."

"I was. I got sick of their conversation," he gave them his sad puppy dog eyes, "about the three of you, so I just left them."

"Oh, poor Leonard," Bernadette cooed, causing Penny to roll her eyes.

"So where's Sunny? I thought she would have found you by now," Penny said.

"I didn't know she was looking for me. I thought she was hanging out with you guys."

"So Leonard," Amy started and Bernadette poked her finger into Amy's arm, "what's going on with you and Sunny? You really like her?"

He smiled, "Yeah, I really do."

"Well you know we only have a few more days here. What are you going to do when we have to go back to Pasadena?"

He cleared his throat, "Well, I was going to talk to you guys about this later, but since you asked…I may as well tell you I am thinking about moving here to be with her."

Penny shook her head, "Leonard, it's your life, but isn't that kind of sudden? I mean you've hardly known her a week."

"And you care? You and Sheldon have…"

"Sheldon and I are fine. This isn't about us. I'm asking about you. We all care about you. It's just sometimes you act, I don't know, too quickly when it comes to girls."

"Yeah," Bernadette chimed in, "look how you almost moved to India because of Priya."

"That would have been a disaster," Amy interjected.

"Well, isn't this nice? Everyone has an opinion about me and my personal life. What…do you guys sit around analyzing me when I'm not around?"

"Uh, no. We'll leave that to the professionals," Penny huffed. Amy giggled and high fived her.

"It's good to know who my friends are," Leonard said, standing up and turning to leave, "Oh, and thanks for the fudge."

"Leonard, wait," Penny said, standing and stepping towards him, "we all really do care. We wouldn't say anything if we didn't. Just please, think about it. You do have a tendency to, I don't know, act in haste. Just, maybe slow down a little with this one, okay?"

"Listen, Penny, I appreciate your concern," he glanced over at Bernadette and Amy, "you guys too, but I am capable of handling my own affairs." He turned back to Penny and sighed softly, "You lost any input in my life when you made the choice to be with Sheldon. Your vote no longer matters to me."

She took a step back from him and raised her eyebrows, "You do what you have to do Leonard. But just know that even though Sheldon and I are together, I want you to be happy. I'm just not sure quitting your job and leaving all of your friends to move across the country to live with a girl you've just met is such a wise choice, but whatever."

"Yeah, whatever," he said sarcastically, "see ya."

The three women watched as he walked away, until he disappeared into the sea of festival attendees.

"That went well," Amy laughed.

"He's so hung up on being with someone, _anyone_, that he just grabs at anything or any woman that gives him the time of day. It's really kind of sad."

"Oh Bernadette," Penny said, rolling her eyes, "stop sugar coating it. The bottom line is he is a horny idiot with no clue about women and relationships. I'm just glad I am done with that before I got sucked into his fantasy world even further."

"Wow," Amy said, shaking her head, "you have him pegged Bestie."

"Yeah, well, he slams on Sheldon all the time, calls him crazy. At least Sheldon has standards and doesn't just give himself away to the first thing that walks by wearing a skirt."

"No, Sheldon waited and chose the hottest thing wearing a skirt." Amy winked at Penny and Bernadette shrugged and shook her head.

"You know," Penny said, lowering her voice, "I think I need to go do some snooping around. I'll catch up with you guys later."

**~73~**

Country music blared from the main stage and the crowd moved at a slow pace, stopping along the roped off streets of the town to purchase food and goods from the local venders. Penny smiled to herself and pulled her jacket zipped, taking in a big whiff of the fresh chilled mountain air. This was what fall is supposed to smell like…crisp, clean, apples and pie and cider and coffee and cinnamon. All she really wanted was to find Sheldon and snuggle up next to him and enjoy the festival together.

She stopped at a large table to purchase a cup of warm apple cider. She'd never had any but it smelled so good she couldn't resist, besides it was getting colder and she needed something to warm her body since her boyfriend wasn't there to put his arms around her.

"Hi," she smiled at the woman working the table, "does this taste as good as it smells?"

"Oh honey," came the strong southern accent, "it's even better than it smells." She cocked her head and grinned at Penny, "You've never had hot apple cider before?"

"No, never have. This is my first time visiting an apple festival."

"Well, then, we have to remedy that, don't we?" She reached for a cup and filled it, passing it across the table to Penny. "Here ya go, the first one's on the house."

"Thanks," Penny said, taking the cup and letting it warm her hands as the steam drifted towards her face. She blew into the mixture to cool it a bit, and then brought it to her lips, letting the smooth, heated beverage fill her senses. She sighed a contented sigh and nodded at the lady and mumbled, "good" before taking another sip.

"I'm Connie, by the way," the lady said and extended her hand towards Penny.

Penny shook her hand and smiled, "Penny," then added, "from California."

"Oh, California, huh? You're a long ways from home."

"Yeah, my friends and I wanted to experience a real autumn since we don't really have them in L.A."

"So you must be one of the group that's staying over in the Pleasant Valley cabin?"

Penny laughed, "Yes, that would be me; I'm one of them, for better or worse, I'm one of them."

"Yeah, we get a lot of tourists here during the fall of the year, but not many from California."

"Well then Californians don't know what they are missing. This place is beautiful. It's going to be hard to leave it."

"Thank you honey, 'preciate the sentiment. I've lived here all my life. Born and raised and wouldn't even think of living anywhere else."

Penny smiled at her, "Yeah, one guy in our group is actually thinking about moving here."

Connie threw her head back and laughed, "Oh, you've got to be talking about the little short fellow. The one with the glasses?"

Penny took another drink and nodded. "You know him? He's my friend. His name is Leonard."

Connie shook her head, "Yep. I've seen him around with Sunny. I don't really know him, just seen him. He's her new boy toy, as they say."

"Boy toy? What do you mean?"

"Well, Sunny's a good girl. I've known her pretty much all her life. I was just a few years ahead of her in school. But she likes the men, especially the tourists. Usually takes up with one or two of them every season."

"So," Penny studied Connie's smiling face, "you're saying that she's just playing with Leonard."

Connie chuckled, "Well, let's just say he's another notch in her belt and leave it at that. I've said too much anyway."

"Connie, thank you so much for the cider and the conversation."

"Oh, you're welcome dear. And hey, just tell your little friend to take it easy. Have a good time with Sunny but not to expect much more. She'll be moving on once he leaves town. It's just the way it is."

"Thanks Connie, I'll pass it along."

"Yeah, just don't mention my name, okay?"

"I promise," Penny said, leaning across the table to give her a quick hug.

"Bye hon'."

**~73~**

Sheldon leaned down and studied the display. The quartz and granite sparkled in the sun and he traced his fingers across the smooth surfaces. He was pleased to discover that the festival had a wide variety of its local resources on display.

He had been roaming around the festival alone for the past half hour. Leonard had wandered off to God knows where and Howard had managed to drag Raj off to some cheerleading presentation. Last he had heard, Raj was warning him they would get in trouble if the girls found out. Sheldon had declined to join them, mostly because he thought the whole thing ridiculous and the lowest form of entertainment. But more importantly because why would he want to look at cheerleaders or any other women when he already had the most beautiful woman in the universe as his girlfriend?

"Hey cowboy, thought I might find you here," Sunny said, smiling as she approached him.

"Excuse me?" Sheldon said, straightening up to look at her.

"Cowboy," she grinned up at him, "you were like a cowboy last night. Sitting around the campfire, strumming the guitar, singing, knocking back a few beers. _Cowboy_."

"I see," he said, then corrected her by noting, "I had only one beer." then looking around for Leonard, noting the scent of alcohol wafting from Sunny's breath.

"They have apple vodka over on the next street. Wanna go get some? I just had some myself."

"Yes, I can see that," he responded, frantically craning his neck around looking for his friends.

"We made beautiful music together, didn't we? You on guitar, me on my mouth horn," she said, winking at him.

"Mouth horn?" His eyes shot across the surrounding tables as he searched for familiar faces.

She laughed, "Harmonica. 'Round here we call it a mouth horn. Because you know, they are in your mouth and you blow them."

"Yes. That's…nice."

He stepped around her and moved into an opening that gave him a better view of the crowded streets. She followed close behind him.

"Hey, there's a talent show over on stage three. I was thinking maybe you and I could go over and do something. Maybe sing a song or two, see if we could win a prize."

Sheldon shook his head, "Thank you but I prefer to only sing in front of my friends, not for an entire community."

"Aw, come on Cowboy. We can go over to the beer tent and knock back a few and you'll be good to go."

She reached up and looped her arm through his and smiled at him, tugging him in the direction she wanted him to go.

Sheldon took a few panicked steps with her, scanning the crowd for his friends. They were nowhere to be found. He came to an abrupt stop and looked down at her.

"Where is Leonard? Why aren't you with him?"

She giggled, "Well, I don't know where he is. And to be honest with you, after last night, watching you at the campfire, and then hearing you and your girlfriend, all I've been able to think about is what you and those beautiful hands of yours could do to me."

"I believe you are intoxicated. Would you like for me to phone Leonard to come assist you?"

"Hell no. You are the one I want to, uh, assist me. Come on Cowboy," she dropped her arm and took his hand in hers and began to pull him along.

Sheldon shoved his other hand into his pocket and frantically fished around for his phone. Sunny stopped and turned to look back at him, observing his hand that was plunged into the pocket of his pants.

"Ummm, is that a phone in your pocket or are you just happy to be with me?" she asked seductively.

"It's a phone in my pocket," he said, her comment going straight over his head.

"Damn, did anybody ever tell you how hot you are? I'd love to just get you alone in my bedroom for a few hours."

"That's very inappropriate. Let's go over to that bench and sit down and I'll call Leonard for you."

He managed to get her seated on the iron bench and she pulled him down next to her. He was able to dial Leonard's number and tell him where they were and that he needed to come quickly. Leonard noted the panic in Sheldon's voice and told him was on the way.

Sunny snuggled close to Sheldon and squeezed his knee. He attempted to push her away and she reached to grab him around his neck, pulling him towards her.

"Just one kiss, Sheldon. I haven't been about to think of anything else since last night."

She lifted her face towards his and just before her lips met his, he turned his head and her wet sloppy kiss landed on his cheek. He ducked his head down and struggled against her grip to stand up.

**~73~**

"Hey, where you going?"

Penny ran into Leonard as she turned from the table, balancing two large containers of cobbler in one hand and cramming money into the pocket of her jeans with the other. He looked at her and snorted.

"So are you getting that to go or are you gonna sit down and eat it now?"

She laughed, "Well, I got it for us to have for desert tonight. You know how Sheldon loves his cobbler. Look, they had blueberry and apple. I thought I'd go put them in the SUV. I don't want to have to lug it around with me the rest of the time but I knew if I didn't get it now, I'd forget about it."

"How thoughtful," he said, rolling his eyes at her comment about Sheldon, then sighing and reaching for one of the pans. "Here, give me one. I'll help you carry it. They are sort of large."

Penny passed him the apple cobbler and kept the blueberry, "Thanks Leonard."

"Yeah, you're welcome. Speaking of your boyfriend, I just got the strangest call from him. I'm on the way to find him."

Penny raised her eyebrows, "What did he say that was so strange?"

Leonard shrugged, "He said he found Sunny and that I needed to come help him. God only knows what that means. He hung up before I could ask. He said he was near the rock display. I think it's this way."

"I'll go with you. I was looking for him anyway."

As they rounded the corner, they were met with the sight of Sunny attempting to crawl up Sheldon's body as he tried (politely, too politely for Penny's liking) to push her off of him.

"What the fuck?" Penny snarled as she moved towards them.

"Penny," Sheldon gasped, "get her off me."

"Let go of him bitch," Penny hissed, grabbing a handful of Sunny's hair and yanking her off of him.

"Oh shut up, blondie," Sunny practically growled at her, "you had him last night. You can share you know."

"Oh God," Leonard huffed, wondering what the hell it was that these women saw in his freakish roommate.

"The only thing I'm going to share with you is this fucking pie," Penny yelled as she ripped the lid off the blueberry cobbler she carried. She twisted towards Sunny and lifted the container over her head, dumping its sticky contents onto Sunny's head.

The three of them, along with the rest of the crowd who had stopped to gawk at the commotion, watched as the gooey purple mess spilled down into Sunny's face and dripped its way across her shoulders and down to her feet. The rest of their friends arrived together just in time for Howard to snap a few pictures for Facebook.

"Fuck you. And don't you EVER touch my man again."

"Come on Sheldon," Penny said, grabbing him by the hand.

"Penny, that was perfectly good cobbler. It was really unnecessary to waste it like that."

She stopped and looked up at him, "Really Sheldon? I see some whore with her hands on you and I'm lucky enough to have a big assed blueberry pie with me at the time? I'd say it was in fact pretty necessary. We can buy another one. Besides, nobody fucks with my boyfriend."

"Point made and duly noted," he said so seriously she had to laugh. He then took out a bottle of hand sanitizer and proceeded to smear it on his face to remove the germs from Sunny's kiss.

_Just as Sheldon had come to expect, chaos had been nipping at their heels. And there it was, blueberry cobbler and all. The entire Apple Festival of Asheville, North Carolina came to a screeching halt as all of the attendees turned to watch as he and his gang of scientists were escorted out of the event by security officers. He expected no less from this hippie lifestyle he was now living. His mother would be on her knees in prayer for grace and mercy for him if she had any clue at all._


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Gah. Is this long-assed holiday weekend ever going to end? I am surrounded by people whom I love but they are intent on keeping me from my Shennying! My house is warm, full of good food and good times, and for that I am thankful. But being the spoiled American I am, I find myself bitching about my "first world problems" like my loved ones not leaving me alone so that I can play on the internet. Sigh…I'm ashamed of myself. Sorry for taking so long for this update. I'm hiding out with my laptop like a freaking felon praying I can snag thirty minutes of quiet time to get this chapter polished/edited and uploaded to you guys. **

**Thanks to all of you for sticking with me through this story. Glad so many are enjoying it. I really do appreciate the sweet reviews. I wish I could answer each one individually but alas, time is beating me over the head with her whipping stick and I can barely tend to my required daily tasks as it is. I see so many stories here that I can't wait to read/catch up on/review as soon as my house settles down a bit before the madness of Christmas sets in. I see that wolfofsheep has completed the excellent Our Demon's That Mold Us and LiveLongProsper has added an update to the awesome Drifting and Risknight has started a new fic called I Forget. And I am sure there is more Shenny goodness I haven't even seen yet that I have missed due to my over consumption of food and family time. I'm being held against my will in a turkey factory at the moment but will return to my routine come Monday. In the mean time, here's chapter twelve of Anarchy. Enjoy! Oh, and happy freaking holidays. Geez.**

**P.S.-See if you can spot the Breaking Bad reference in this chapter. I had to put it in here because it just felt so right. I love Breaking Bad so damn much. Yo.**

CHAPTER TWELVE

~He Always Knew They Would End Up in Jail~

The knock at the door to Peaceful Valley came early and hard. Leonard, the only guy in the house sleeping alone, hence the only guy who really had no reason to stay in bed, stumbled to the door and pulled it open. He wiped at his eyes and fumbled with his glasses before the two large police officers came into full view.

"Uh, hi. Can I help you officers?"

"Yeah. We're looking for a," the older policeman looked down at the notepad he clutched in his beefy hand, "uh, blonde female. Goes by the name of Penny, last name unknown at present time. 'Bout yay high," the cop said, holding his hand out to almost the exact height of Penny. "Weighs about one ten, one fifteen. Ya know 'er?"

"Um," Leonard's mind went into high gear wondering if there was some way he could smuggle Penny out of the cabin before she met with whatever fate the police officers had in store for her.

"Good Morning officers," Sheldon said, approaching to stand beside Leonard, tying his robe as he did so. "May I ask what this is in reference to?"

"You the blonde's lawyer?" the cop asked sarcastically, looking from the shortest man then shifting his eyes over to the taller one.

Sheldon cleared his throat, "Are you implying that she needs an attorney?"

Both of the uniformed men chuckled and the larger one stuck his hand out towards Sheldon.

"You guys ain't from around here, are you?"

Leonard quickly stepped in front of Sheldon to shake the officer's hand, knowing that Sheldon would refuse it, therefore possibly creating more trouble for them than they were obviously already in.

"No…uh, no sir. We are from California. Just here on vacation."

The younger officer grinned at his partner and nudged him with his elbow and said, "Damn. California. I don't think Sunny's ever had a tourist from California. That's a new stamp for her, um, _passport_."

The two men howled with knowing laugher while Sheldon and Leonard stood watching them in confusion. When the policemen regained their composure the older man spoke.

"Sorry, don't think we introduced ourselves. I'm Officer White and this is my partner, Officer Pinkman. Our friends call us Walt and Jesse."

"Officer White, Officer Pinkman, hello," Leonard said, bumping Sheldon out of the way so that he could pull the door open further.

"Please come in. I'm Doctor Hofstadter and this is Doctor Cooper."

"Gentlemen," Sheldon nodded at them, his nose stuck a little too high in the air for Leonard's liking. It was just like Sheldon not to know to be a little humble when the fucking cops are knocking at your door at the break of dawn. Come hell or high water, Sheldon would always insist on maintaining his air of superiority.

"Sheldonnnn," Penny half moaned and half whined as she entered the room, her golden hair a big, sexy sloppy mess on top of her head. "Why'd you get out of bed? I wasn't finished with you baaabeeeee."

"Oh God," Leonard groaned and Sheldon turned a bright shade of crimson.

Pinkman and White's eyes bugged out of their heads and Sheldon quickly pushed his embarrassment down and stepped in front of her in order to conceal her half dressed body.

Pinkman laughed and said, "That's gotta be the broad we're looking for."

Sheldon glared at him, "She's not a broad. She's a lady."

_Although_, Sheldon thought to himself, _what she had just said probably didn't sound very ladylike._

"Calm down fella," White said, and then focused his attention on Penny, "Are you Penny?"

Penny looked up and for the first time realized there were policeman in the house. She looked from Sheldon to Leonard and then down at herself. Realizing she was barely dressed, she quickly placed her hands on Sheldon's shoulders to keep him in front of her. She peered around him and offered a weak, "Yes sir."

High school memories flooded her mind. _Oh shit, be cool, it's the cops_. Her eyes shot to Leonard, they both were very aware of the fact that one Sheldon Lee Cooper would not, could not, under any circumstances, be cool for the cops. Not at all.

"Well, Penny. We've received a complaint about you. Miss Sunny Davenport states that on yesterday's date, you assaulted her. Uh, with a blueberry cobbler."

"Oh." Penny said quietly, tugging at Sheldon and whispering for him to give her his robe.

He removed his robe as she requested, but sternly pointed out to her that this was exactly why she needed to have her own robe and keep it within arm's length during the night and early morning hours for unexpected emergencies such as this. She rolled her eyes, shushed him and slipped into his robe and tied it quickly around her waist. She stepped around him and moved towards the policemen, giving them her best pouty look.

"Yes sir. Well…it was an accident. Sort of."

"Officer White," Sheldon spoke up, "do you have a warrant for Penny's arrest?"

"No, son we don't. This really isn't a big deal, just a formality. We've had a report filed and we are here to investigate the crime."

"Crime?" Sheldon said with a haughty look of derision on his face.

"Here we go," Leonard mumbled. He and Penny traded looks of horror. They were all too familiar with this look.

"Penny, as the most intelligent man in the room," he shot his eyes at the policemen and then over to Leonard, "and as your boyfriend, I am advising you not to speak to or cooperate with these men."

"Look, Mr. Cooper," the youngest cop started.

Sheldon raised his eyebrows and glared at both men, "That's _DOCTOR_ Cooper. Now please, I am insisting that you vacate the premises immediately."

"Sir, we really are just trying to help here. Everybody in town knows Sunny's game. We just need to ask your girlfriend a few questions and then…"

"And then what? I've read about you small town cops. Eating donuts and waiting for the tourists to come through your town to meet your yearly quota with tickets and the like. Hell, I'm from a small town in Texas. My dad had friends like you two."

"Sheldon," Penny hissed at him, "just let them talk. Maybe we can work this out. Let's just hear what they have to say."

"I would advise you to listen to your little woman there, _DOCTOR_ Cooper," the older cop said sarcastically.

Penny stopped arguing with Sheldon and turned to look at the officer, "Uh, little woman what? What little woman?"

"Oh hell," Leonard said, backing up to go for reinforcements in the form of a petit astronaut and a selectively mute astrophysicist.

"Look, miss, we're just here to do our jobs, but if you want to make it difficult, we will be glad to give you a ride to the station to sort this out."

"I bet you would," Sheldon cracked, rolling his eyes and grabbing Penny by the arm. "Good day gentlemen. You can see yourselves out."

It took about twenty seconds for them to handcuff Sheldon and Penny. The older officer grinned because truth be told? He did enjoy fucking with these pain in the ass tourists.

"Leonard!" Sheldon bellowed as he and Penny were escorted out the door (in their pajamas, no less) to the waiting police car.

"I will have you know, officer, that I haven't had breakfast nor my morning bowel movement. I would like to request that you note this in your report."

"Ah, shut up slim. If you are lucky we'll stop by the donut shop on the way and get you something. Then you can take a shit in the cell at the jailhouse because that's where you will be spending your morning, _Doctor_."

"I get one phone call. I would like to request to make it now," Sheldon said, his voice not sounding so full of haughty confidence any longer.

"Who are you going to call, Sheldon?" Penny whispered to him, trying to scoot closer.

"My mom," he said, his voice an octave higher than normal.

**~73~**

"I demand," Sheldon fumed, forcing his fear down into his gut, "that Penny and I be placed in the same cell."

He was standing (because the only bench in the cell was being used as a bed by a man twice his size) and pacing around the tile floor.

"Sir, I've already told you," the desk officer sighed, "it is federal law. Males and females can not be housed in the same cell."

Sheldon looked over at Penny who was in the adjacent cell. She was sitting on the metal bench still wearing his robe, her knees pulled up to her chest. She raised her head to him and gave him a small smile and told him she was okay. Then she told him she was sorry.

He forced a smile and said, "We've been behaving like hippies since we left California, Penny. I suppose some part of me always knew this is where we would end up."

She laughed because really, what else could she do? At least he hadn't fainted. _Yet_.

"I just didn't think we'd be in our pajamas," he added as an afterthought.

"Just embrace the chaos, Moon Pie. Embrace the chaos."

"Well," he huffed, "I would if I could but I can't reach you from here."

She grinned at him and he winked at her and they both felt a little bit better.

"Hey, are you calling me chaos?"

"Well, if the name fits…" his words tapered off.

"Hey! If I recall correctly, this isn't your first time in the slammer buddy. You should be comfortable here. Remember the last time you were in court? You couldn't keep your mouth shut…_big surprise_…and the judge threw you in the clinker. You are a repeat offender."

"Ah, I see. So when it comes right down to it, I'm just a hardened criminal in your mind. While you are merely an innocent woman that has done nothing wrong. Like for instance dumping pie on someone's head at the county fair."

"Hey. It wasn't a county fair, it was an apple festival," she mumbled because really, she had no defense at all.

"Does it really matter? It doesn't make any difference what it was called, the point is, we are both sitting here in prison now awaiting our fate. I see my chances at the Nobel Prize fading with each passing moment. I doubt I could be nominated with criminal charges on my permanent record."

She sighed, "We're not in prison Sheldon. It's just a holding cell. Our friends will be here soon to bail us out."

"Our friends will be here soon to bail us out," he mocked her in a nervous, high pitched tone. "Those are certainly words to be proud of. I think I'll use them as the title of my biography. Face it Penny, our lives have descended into anarchy."

"You're a ray of freaking sunshine Sheldon," she huffed at him.

Penny turned and cautiously surveyed her surroundings. There were two other women sharing the cell. They were both larger than her and they sported tattoos. Lots of them. And not cute, nice ones like she had. No, the ones these ladies wore appeared to have been carved into their flesh with a blunt knife and then ink from a fountain pen drizzled across the top until the skin absorbed it. Their tattoos weren't Chinese characters that stood for courage (or soup). No. Their tattoos said things like "Killer" and "U fuck with me U die" and "Satan is my homeboy."

Penny prayed the desk sergeant wouldn't leave her here alone with these women.

Sheldon walked to the wall of metal bars that separated his cell from hers. He motioned for her to come to him. She was glad to have a reason to move away from the scary women who were looking at her like she'd make a right tasty breakfast.

She pushed her face as close to the bars as she could and smirked at him.

"Give me a kiss hippie boy."

He looked around, shrugged and said, "Well, apparently I'm an outlaw so what the hell?"

He shoved his face towards hers and brushed his lips over hers, then pushed his arms through the bars and pulled her towards him. He shuddered at the sight of the cold hard bars with their thick layers of paint that was peeling away from the metal.

"This is highly unsanitary Penny."

Her ribs hurt from the bars digging against her body but she decided she'd rather deal with the discomfort than ask him to release his hold on her.

"We're here to make bail," came a familiar voice and they both looked up to see Leonard and Howard round the corner and approach the desk sergeant.

"Oh my God," Howard laughed, nodding towards the holding cells, "would you look at those two? Even in jail they are making out like bunnies. Damn Sheldon."

"Kill me," Leonard muttered under his breath, and then turned back to the sergeant.

"Who are you here for sir?"

Leonard cocked his thumb in the air and gestured towards Sheldon and Penny, "Those two jailbirds over there."

"I think you mean lovebirds," Howard snarked.

The sergeant looked up and yelled at them, "Hey, you two break it up or I'll spray you down with the hose."

Sheldon gave Penny one more quick kiss and then backed away from her.

"Thank God Leonard. What took you so long?"

Leonard rolled his eyes and Penny laughed despite the crazy situation they were in.

"Can you tell me exactly what my friends are charged with?" Leonard asked as he scrolled through the contact list on his phone. Raj was back at the cabin calling Priya for legal advice and Leonard was checking his list for anyone else that might could help them.

"Well, let's have a look-see, shall we? The girl, well she's charged with assault and battery. And the man, pain in the ass that he is, is charged with interfering with police business."

While the sergeant was clicking around on his computer, the door opened and the two investigating officers, Pinkman and White, strolled in, both drinking coffee and laughing.

"Ah, hang on there Hank. We ain't gonna charge 'em. We just brought 'em in to show 'em who's boss. Teach 'em some manners."

Sheldon, hearing this, opened his mouth to argue and Penny shushed him and said through gritted teeth, "Sheldon Lee Cooper, please just keep your mouth shut or you'll never have sex with me again."

Sheldon didn't speak another word.

Officer White walked to the bars and motioned for Sheldon and Penny.

"Look here you two. I talked to Sunny, she ain't gonna press charges. Now me and Pinkman could still throw some disorderly charge on your asses if we so choose. But as long as you swear to respect the law from here on out, we'll just pretend like this little incident never happened. Kapish?"

Penny shot a hard glare at Sheldon and then reminded him that if they took the deal he wouldn't have to call his mother after all. That was all she needed to say. He nodded respectfully at Officer White and then to Officer Pinkman.

"Let 'em out Hank. They're free to go."

**~73~**

"After we shower and wash the dirt of the criminal masses off our bodies, we'll find the nearest laundry facility and attempt to rid our pajamas of whatever disgusting germs they are harboring."

She reached to turn the shower on and then sighed as they stood in the bathroom together stripping off what he had taken to calling their "prison clothing."

"Sheldon, honey, there is a washer and dryer here in the cabin. We'll just throw our clothes in there after we shower."

She stood naked now and watched with a lustful gleam in her eye as he carefully stepped out of his plaid. It still amazed her that he was so comfortable with undressing in front of her, not to mention sharing the bathroom together. Boy how things had changed for Doctor Cooper. It was stunning what being in love could do to a man such as he.

"I am aware of that Penny, but I would prefer to locate a professional laundry that can make use of industrial cleaning devices."

When he had finally removed all of his clothing and folded them neatly before placing them on the floor next to the ones she had haphazardly tossed aside, he stood and caught the look she was giving him.

"I'd like to make use of _your_ industrial device," she grinned and cocked an eyebrow up at him. She grabbed his hand and tugged him towards the shower.

He stood watching helplessly as she took a bar of soap and lathered his body, then her own before she pulled him against her and wrapped her arms around his neck. She felt his hardness pressing into her as she smoothed her cheek across his chest.

"Mmmm, I see jail made you as horny as it made me."

"Penny," he went to protest but knew it would do no good because dammit, she was right.

"I've been a very bad girl Officer Cooper. I think you need to arrest me."

His mind reeled, searching for the context of her words. Thank God for some of the videos Wolowitz had sent him through the years. _Sexual role playing games. Got it._

"I need to frisk you first, outlaw woman."

Penny spread her arms and legs as wide as the small space would allow and then rolled her eyes innocently up to meet his.

"Yes sir," she said seductively, "search me anywhere you need."

Sheldon couldn't control the moan that escaped his lips as he turned her around and pushed her against the wall of the shower. He ran his fingers across her arms, down her sides, up her stomach and landed them on her soapy breasts. He roughly circled her nipples with his thumbs while pressing his hardness against the cheeks of her ass.

"Oh Officer, you have such a huge nightstick. I hope you don't hurt me with it."

Penny giggled and Sheldon inhaled as deeply as his lungs would allow, trying like hell to maintain control over his body and mind.

"Penny," he growled, grabbing his erection and positioning it at her entrance, "my God what are you doing to me?"

"Oh, come on baby, we're just two hippies doing it in the shower."

She shuddered as he entered her. He draped his body over hers, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing the back of her neck and shoulders.

"Hippies? I thought I was a cop," he whispered into her ear as he slid one hand past her abdomen and settled his index finger on her clit and began to tease her slowly with soft, agonizing strokes.

She gasped and struggled to stay up right, placing one of her hands over the top of his to guide him.

"Cops, hippies, I don't care. Just…oh yeah…just like that…oh fuck Sheldon."

His breathing became ragged and his slow, deep thrusting began to increase in speed. He tightened his grip to keep her steady and batted her hand away from his.

"You are being charged with disorderly conduct," he growled, pumping hard into her and dropping his thumb to pleasure her just right.

"Mmmm…yeah…disorderly… with you Officer Cooper…so good…"

She knew he was nearing his peak as his pumping became faster and more erratic and his language turned more illicit. Penny had discovered that there was nothing hotter than Sheldon Cooper talking dirty to her with his proper inflections and phrasing. _Who knew?_

"Oh God yes," she wailed in delight as he whispered dirty thoughts in her ear about how sweet her pussy was and how he couldn't wait to taste her later.

She exploded with orgasm and he was just seconds behind her. The water was beginning to lose its heat and so they washed quickly and got out. But not before he swore to her that she was the best thing that had ever happened to him and be they hippies or jailbirds or distinguished citizens, he'd never leave her side. And when Sheldon Cooper made a promise you could take it to the fucking bank.

**~73~**

"They're at it again," Howard grinned. Bernadette swatted him, Leonard groaned and left the room and Raj and Amy listened intently because they didn't want to miss a damn thing.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews, PMs, favorites…you guys are awesome and you all keep me motivated to write. I've been in such a funk concerning the sad state of Shenny that I've had thoughts of just accepting they are doomed, never to be, and just leaving the fandom. But then when I least expect it, I get a review or PM from one of you and I think of how much I'd miss all of this if I stopped. So I guess you are stuck with me for awhile. :P**

**Hopefully Leonard wises up just a little bit in this chapter. Only two more to go after this one. Thank you so much for, well, for everything!**

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

~Choose Wisely~

Sheldon was the first to wake. He'd had dreams most of the night of bonfires and trains and jail cells and could have sworn he could taste apple cobbler lingering in his mouth. He was on his side facing Penny. She was still deep in sleep, a slight smile playing across her face. He instinctively reached to brush the soft wisps of hair away from her face and then bent to drop a kiss on her forehead and mumble his love to her before sliding effortlessly off the bed and heading for his morning bladder void.

She was beginning to stir by the time he returned and he stood and watched as she stretched her body and released loud yawns to wake herself. The ease in which she slipped into the morning with an eager curiosity of what surprises the day could hold still baffled him. He'd already began to organize and order the day in his mind while she seemed to be trying to decide whether to wear her fuzzy pink slippers or the ones that were neon green and reminded Sheldon of a frog he'd once injected chemicals into when he was seven years old.

"I know you're watching me Moon Pie," she said, glancing over her shoulder at him and then kissing the air and blowing it towards him.

"Am I expected to catch that?" he smiled and then crawled back onto the bed and reached for her. He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her towards him, her arms flailing about dramatically.

"Why didn't you wake me?" she laughed softly, burying her face against his neck, dropping kisses along freckles that led a path to his shoulders.

"You looked so beautiful sleeping I didn't want to lose the moment. Besides, there were no policemen knocking at our door this morning with arrest warrants bearing our names so I thought I'd let you sleep in."

"You're never going to let me forget that are you?"

"Nope," he said, tracing his fingers across her skin that was still warm from sleep.

"Well, if I recall, you were in the cell next to me. You don't have much room to talk. Besides, I think it was _both_ of us who were ordered not to ever return to Asheville again."

He laughed and pulled back to look at her, studying the lopsided grin on her face.

"You are correct. I have been banned from restaurants, movie theaters, shopping malls and unfortunately a few universities. And there are even some people that I am banished from being near, namely Leonard Nimoy and Stan Lee. But this is the first time I've ever been banished from an entire city."

"Yeah, it is kind of embarrassing, huh? See the trouble your mouth got us into?"

"Me?" he stared at her incredulously, "You were the one that put us on the radar of local law enforcement officers. You are the one who continues to drag me deeper into your lair Penny."

She giggled, "My lair?"

He sighed and shook his head, "Just don't expect me to buy a van so that we can travel around the country following The Grateful Dead or your Radiohead or whatever hoodlum band is the new rave. I am a respected…_well somewhat respected_…physicist you know."

"Well I am so sorry I have deflowered you and your stellar reputation, Doctor Cooper."

He leaned down to kiss her, lingering for a moment before pulling back, "I wouldn't have it any other way, Penny. Look what I've been missing."

She brushed her fingers through his hair and lifted her hand to place it against his chest, "And look what I've been missing."

She pushed him back and landed on top of him, covering his body with hers and whispering how much she loved him and how thankful she was that they had finally, after all these years, found each other.

"We, Sheldon, are perfect together."

"Yes, we're a regular Bonnie and Clyde," he hissed as she licked her way down his chest.

**~73~**

"We want to ride the train with you guys," Amy told them over breakfast as Raj nodded enthusiastically beside her.

"Why?" Penny asked and shot Sheldon a look for him not to open his mouth in protest. She knew he didn't want to share their train time with anyone else.

"Well, from what you told Bernadette and me it just sounds so romantic."

She laughed and said, "Yeah, but you guys have already booked your flights. And the train may not have any vacancies. That's how Sheldon and I ended up sharing a room together, right Sheldon?"

"More or less," he mumbled. He had never confessed to Penny that he didn't really check and had just booked her into his room so that he could be with her. Maybe he'd tell her someday.

"Well, I think Bernadette was going to go online and see if we could all get rooms on the train. Just think, riding the rail all the way to California with my bestie and my sizzling hot brown sugar boyfriend. It'll be like a dream come true."

"If there are in fact vacancies you will pay a premium rate at this late time. It will not be very cost effective at all," Sheldon said, still trying to dissuade them. Penny kicked him gently under the table and he rolled his eyes at her.

Leonard entered the room and sighed, looking between the two couples, reminded yet again that he was the lone wolf of the group. Everyone was pair bonded except him. He had ended things with Sunny shortly after seeing her trying to climb on top of his roommate at the apple festival. He was just glad that if she had to stab him in the heart like that, at least she had done it before he gave up his job and his home and his friends and moved all the way across the country for her. He had conceded to Penny and the girls that they had been right all along.

"Hey guys. I need a couple of you to go with me to Sunny's to get my stuff I left over there. I'm not going alone. Those police officers told me to make sure I take at least two people with me." He looked at Sheldon and Penny and smirked, "And they said not to take either one of you two troublemakers."

"Fine with me, I don't want to ever see that scary woman again," Sheldon replied, adding, "Really Leonard, you have got to do something about your penchant for women. You see where it has gotten you so far."

Leonard rolled his eyes and snapped, "Yeah, you are such an expert on the subject of women."

Missing the sarcasm, Sheldon grinned and said, "I am indeed. Look at the one I have."

"Please, for the love of God, let this trip be over with," Leonard moaned.

Raj took a gulp of his concoction of vodka and orange juice and said, "It's been a great trip Leonard. Look at the woman I have."

Leonard rolled his eyes and looked at Amy, "So do you think you and your boyfriend over there can go to Sunny's place with me? You two are about the most level headed ones in this little band of crazies I seem to be a card carrying member of."

"We don't have cards Leonard. But I could make some up when we get home. That's a _great_ idea," Sheldon enthused.

The girls and Raj laughed and Leonard just threw his hands up and left the room to get dressed for the day.

**~73~ **

"I can't believe you and your little friends posted that picture of me on Facebook Leonard," Sunny said as she opened the door and glared at him.

"Sorry Sunny, that was Wolowitz's doings. Raj and Amy just told me about it. I'll make him take it down when I get back to the cabin."

"You do that," she snapped.

"Well it's what you get for attempting to have relations with my bestie's boyfriend. You should thank you lucky stars she didn't fling her poop at you. I'd venture to say that blueberry cobbler is preferable to poop."

"Amy!" Leonard bellowed as Raj sniggered behind them.

"Listen," Sunny said, lowering her voice as she stepped out onto the porch with them. "I really do feel bad about what happened with your friend. I just had a bit too much apple vodka. Just, well, tell him and his girl that I apologize for my actions, okay? It's the only reason I dropped the charges against her, I know I stepped over the line. Being drunk is not a good excuse, but it's the truth. People just do stupid things when they have too much to drink."

"I'll tell them," Leonard said in a hushed tone. "Now, can I just get my things Sunny? We are leaving tomorrow and I can't wait to get the hell out of here and back to California."

Sunny offered him a sad smile, "Sure. I've already packed your bag, it's just inside the door."

Leonard moved to get his duffle bag and Sunny reached to put her hand on his chest.

"Leonard, can I give you some, uh, friendly advice?"

He sighed because he really just wanted to get the hell out of there, but his curiosity got the best of him. "What is it Sunny?"

"You really are a nice guy. But, well, you just try too hard and you fall too fast. We had a nice fling, but that's all it was. And you were ready to give up your job, your friends, your home, just to move here to be with me. I just humored you because, well, it was kinda hot to think a guy would give all of that up for me. But really, it's kind of, well, pathetic."

"Gee, thanks Sunny," he said, his face growing pale.

"Dude, listen to her. She speaks the truth," Raj whispered, leaning into Leonard's ear.

"I'm not trying to be mean or hurt your feelings Leonard. I'm just, maybe, trying to save you from yourself. I'll probably never see you again, so what you do with your life won't effect me at all. But, you just have such a desperate feeling about yourself. Like, you want a girlfriend, but any girl will do. It's like you aren't looking or waiting for a special girl, you'll just take any girl that will have you. It's just kinda, I don't know, weird. And sad."

"Preach it sister," Amy deadpanned, nodding her head in agreement.

Leonard stepped past Sunny, pushed the door open and reached in to grab his bag. He flung it across his shoulder then turned to look at her one last time as Raj and Amy made their way back to the SUV.

"You know what Sunny? I'd like to tell you to go to hell. But I'm afraid you may be right, so, thanks for that."

She leaned to press a soft kiss on his check then covered it with her hand, "Don't be so quick to fall in love Leonard. Choose wisely."

"Bye Sunny," he said, tears stinging his eyes. He knew she was right. It wasn't the first time he'd heard this. Penny had tried to tell him. His mother had. Even Sheldon had. But it felt like this time, at this moment, he got it. He finally got it. Choose wisely. Those were the words he needed to hear. _Choose wisely._

**~73~**

"Bad news Amy," Bernadette said as Leonard, Raj and Amy entered the house. "I checked the website and the only vacancies on the train are in the common area seating. No rooms are available. And I don't know about you and Raj, but Howie and I are not going to sit in a crowed seating area for four whole days with a group of strangers."

They were disappointed in the news and decided they would just go home on the airplane as was their original plan. Sheldon didn't say anything, but he nudged Penny who was sitting next to him on the sofa. He winked at her and she gave him a knowing grin. He wouldn't have to share Penny or the train with anyone. _All was well in Sheldonopolis._


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Can't believe this is drawing so near to the end. One more chapter after this one and Anarchy will be wrapped up. I can't tell you how much fun I had writing this one nor can I tell you how much your support of it has meant to me. You guys, this small little Shenny group of ours, are so kind and accepting. And not just to me. I see it all over this site when others post Shenny fics up and the reviews you write. It's encouraging to see such a warm sense of community in this tiny corner of the internet. It really does take a village, doesn't it? :)**

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

~Getting to Know You~

Penny and Sheldon accompanied their friends to the airport and hugged them goodbye. (Well, Penny hugged, Sheldon just sort of nodded at them.) They would have one more night in the cabin as their scheduled train departure wasn't until the following day.

"I thought they'd never leave," Sheldon said, taking her hand in his as they left the lobby of the airport and walked towards the parking garage.

"Sheldon!" Penny exclaimed, playfully punching him in his arm.

"What? Is it wrong that I want you all to myself for one night?"

"Well, we do have a four day train ride back to California starting tomorrow. Not to mention that our room on the train is the teeny tiniest room on the planet."

"I don't mind a teeny tiny room if I'm sharing it with you Penny."

"Hold up," she laughed, stopping and turning to face him. "So you are good with squeezing into that small space with me and my, uh, _mess _as you like to call it?"

He released her hand and moved to slip his arms around her waist and pull her nearer to him. He paused a moment as if to organize his thoughts before proceeding.

"While you and your female products are certainly a mess, I have come to the conclusion that I find an unexpected comfort in them. And in you. Definitely in you."

"Oh Shelly," she giggled, pushing up on her tiptoes and dropping kisses along his jaw line, "you're so romantic!"

He rolled his eyes and said dryly, "Aren't I?"

**~73~ **

The last fire they would enjoy in the cabin was roaring in the stone fireplace. Sheldon stoked it, basking in the soothing sounds of the popping and crackling of the dry wood. He knew that for the rest of his life anytime he caught the scent of burning wood floating through the air his mind would drift back to this time, this place, this woman, this love.

Penny leaned her back against the sofa. She had spread a blanket on the floor in front of the fire and insisted they sit there instead of on the couch. Sheldon had protested at first until she just did it anyway and then plopped down, crossing her legs Indian style and telling him when she was a little girl her mom always called it "crisscross apple sauce" style sitting. She patted the space beside her and coaxed him to her and he obliged her wishes. He grinned shyly and confessed to her that his MeeMaw called it "crisscross apple sauce" too.

"See how great this is Sheldon."

"Yes, we look like a couple of hippies sitting around a campfire," he said, then raised two fingers and sent her a sideways glance and said, "Peace, man."

She looped her arm though his and snuggled closer to him. He released a contented sigh and leaned down to bury his face in her hair.

"I love you Sheldon," she said because she had grown accustomed to saying it to him over the past two weeks. It came out easy and felt so right.

"I love you as well," he told her, feeling his heart swell in ways that he was only beginning to feel comfortable with. The last two weeks had changed him forever, had changed him for the good.

"So tell me something about you that I don't already know," she said in a whisper, her eyes mesmerized by the fire in front of them.

"Penny, I'm an open book. There is nothing you don't know about me."

She poked him in the side and said, "Oh, everyone has a few secrets they don't just release into the world Sheldon. I'm sure you do too."

"I see. So using that logic I suppose you have a few secrets of your own. Tell me something about you that I don't already know."

She laughed and called him a "smarty pants" then turned to face him.

"The other day. The day we were in jail? Well…that wasn't my first time in jail."

He pulled back and studied her quietly before speaking slowly.

"So…is this where you tell me your name isn't really Penny and you're a prison escapee who was charged with murder? And now that we are alone you are going to kill me too?"

"Oh no, it's much worse than that," she teased him, pulling him back closer to her.

"I can only imagine."

"I, well, I sort of stole my friends' mom's car when I was fourteen."

"Penny! You're telling me I am in love with a car thief?"

"Well, there was this band that we were crazy about…a boy band…yeah, I know, embarrassing…whatever…anyway, they were playing a concert near us and we both had begged our parents for months to take us but they all said no. So Emily and I…Emily was my best friend…Emily and I decided we would have a sleepover at her house the night of the concert. So the more we complained about it, the more we looked at pictures of the band, the more we talked about how cute they were…we decided we were just going to drive there ourselves. Her parents were out to dinner in her dad's car, so you know, her mom's car was just sitting there not being used."

"Good Lord Penny."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. When _you_ were fourteen you were solving the mysteries of the universe in Germany. Got it."

"I was indeed. But please continue. I'm intrigued by your story of misguided youth and boy bands."

"So Emily said I had to drive because if we got caught her mom would kill her but if I was the one driving she wouldn't do anything to me."

"Except have you arrested?"

"Uh, right. So we get about a mile from her house. I'm driving and have no clue what I'm doing because I'd never driven before…and I crashed into Mr. Thompson's mailbox. He was a man in our town that owned a few businesses. Everyone knew him and he knew everyone. He came outside and saw us, we slouched down in the car and pretended to be dead, thinking if he thought we were dead he wouldn't tell on us. Ends up, he called the police. Our parents, hers and mine, were so mad they told the police to just take us to jail. It was one of those things where parents want to teach their kids a lesson or something. My dad knew a bunch of the cops in town and he made sure they locked us in a cell where there were no other criminals. But they made us stay there all night. We were scared to death and we cried all night long."

"So you learned your lesson?"

"Well, I guess I did."

"Until you decided to dump an entire blueberry cobbler on someone's head."

"Well, that bitch had her hands on my man. So I lost my mind for a second. Is that a crime?"

"Well, apparently it is because we wound up in jail, now didn't we?"

"Okay Mister Perfect. So spill it. I told you one of my deepest darkest secrets, now it's your turn."

"You told me _one_ of them? You mean there's more?"

She laughed, "You just never know, do ya?"

He shifted and looked down at her, cupping her chin in his hand and lifting her face to within inches of his own. When he spoke to tell her how beautiful she was his breath fluttered across her lips and she slowly exhaled from the warm sensation and batted her eyes up at his. He closed the distance and brushed his mouth across her, his lips teasing hers. She caught his bottom lip with her teeth and bit down gently. He pulled her towards him and onto his lap, never breaking contact with her mouth. Their kiss grew more frantic and she felt his arousal growing as she ground into him.

"Wait," she said, stopping and pulling back, "you aren't getting off this easy. Don't use your sexy ways to avoid sharing one of your secrets with me."

"But Penny," he moaned, sliding his hands along her waist, going under her shirt, "I really _want_ to get off this easy. This is so much better than talking about me."

"Oh no," she said, pushing her hands against his chest and climbing out of his lap, "Spill it mister. Give me a good juicy Shelly Cooper story or you're sleeping alone tonight buddy."

"Fine," he huffed, "but mine isn't nearly as interesting as yours. Mine doesn't involve boy bands and stolen cars and jail."

"I'm listening," she smiled at him.

"I got drunk one time and burned down my dad's barn. And nobody knows about it except for me and my mom and Jesus. And now you."

"Sheldon Cooper! You bad boy you! Ummm, I like very much…continue."

He sighed, "Yes. Well, I was home from Germany for an extended winter break. I was of course bored out of my mind as there were no intellectual equals for me to commiserate with so I had to find ways to keep myself busy. I decided to set up and run some experiments just to entertain myself. My mom made me do it in the barn because she said some of the chemicals I was using were stinking up the house."

He paused, giving her the opportunity to reach and run her hands through his hair and tell him she wished she had known him then, she'd have kept him plenty busy. He laughed and then continued with his story.

"So I'm in the barn, it's freezing cold, when I find an unopened bottle of my dad's whiskey. Being the genius I am," he stopped long enough to roll his eyes and laugh, then went on, "I knew that consuming alcohol would warm the body. It never occurred to me to think of the other not so pleasant effects of alcohol. So I'm drinking, getting warmer, which caused me to drink more, and playing around with my experiments. The whiskey begins to overtake my brain and before I knew it, I spilled some highly flammable chemicals on the hay beneath my feet. I leaned over to look at it, try to figure out the best way to remove it, and knocked the Bunsen burner I was using off the table. It took only seconds before the chemicals, along with the hay, to catch fire and I had no choice but to grab my things and run out the door."

"Oh Sheldon," she said, stroking his forearm and urging him on.

"Well, I first ran to my room and hid all the evidence in my closet, then I went to the kitchen where my mom was. She was washing dishes and the window above her sink looked out into the back yard facing the barn. I knew that any minute now she would see flames shooting out of the building. It only took her one look at me to know something was wrong so I broke down sobbing and told her what had happened. I've never seen that woman move as fast as she did that night. She grabbed my hand and we ran to check the progress of the fire and it was too far gone to stop it. So she pulled me back in the house, made me strip and get in the shower and told me to keep the water running until she came back for me. Later I found out the shower was just go give me an alibi so my dad wouldn't know I was the one who set the fire."

"I love your mom for protecting you from your dad like that," Penny whispered.

"Yeah. So after a few minutes of crying in the shower, she bangs on the door and yells for me to get out. The firemen came and put it out, asked a few questions and my mom told them she was just standing in the kitchen and started seeing flames. They ask who else was around and she told them I was in the shower, Dad was asleep in his recliner and my brother and sister were out with friends. Since it was our property and no one was injured, there wasn't anything else made of it. My dad had initially wanted them to call the arson investigators in but my mom convinced him not to."

She grinned at him, "I love that story."

He laughed, "Yeah, it wasn't so great when it happened, and really for years I'd get a knot in my stomach when I thought about it, but now, it's just a funny thing that happened in my youth. And my dad never found out. He died not knowing that his overly ambitious son burned his barn to the ground."

"Well, it sounds like you and your mom made a wise choice."

"I'd say so. Just don't ever mention it. She may not be pleased that I shared such a personal story from our family's rather egregious history."

"This is nice, Sheldon. This…_getting to know you._ You are so much more than what you let people see."

"Yes it is nice. Thank you.

"For what?"

"For everything. For taking the time. I can be quite difficult you know."

"Nooo. _Really_?" she giggled.

"Yes," he replied contemplatively, her teasing lost to him.

Penny climbed back into his lap and leaned her mouth to his ear, tracing the shell of it with her tongue and whispered, "Your secrets are safe with me Moon Pie."

"Mmmmm, thank you Penny."

"Now make love to me like you mean it, you bad boy. I want you to light _my_ fire just like you lit that barn up."

"Oh God," he sighed, running his mouth across the flesh of her neck, "I'm never going to hear the end of this am I?"

"Never," she said as she drug her fingers down his chest to the waistband of his pants. He took a deep breath when she smoothed her hand across his growing arousal and he tightened his grip on her as she slowly unzipped his pants and slid her hand in. He loved her through the night there in front of that old stone fireplace in the mountains of North Carolina. She shared more secrets with him and he with her. By the time the sun began to rise on the new day, the day they would begin their journey back to California, she was sure he was the man she had waited her entire life for and he was sure he couldn't live a moment without knowing she was in his life forever. He called her Jailbird and she called him Fire Starter and he swore he didn't regret a single moment of the chaos she'd all but thrust upon him. Sheldon embraced the chaos over and over that night. And the chaos, as she was, embraced him right back.

_Peace, man._


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: I have had craziness going on in my house for the past week and said craziness has prevented me from getting this final update to you. I do apologize as I am not a fan of waiting. I don't blame you if you want to dump blueberry cobbler on my head. You just have to find me first! ;)**

**Thank you all so much, readers old and new, for your interest in this story. I said from the beginning that I set out to make this a fun, sexy, light read and I hope I have succeeded. I sought to give you happiness and I hope I achieved that goal. I know there were bouts of fluffiness and silliness and suspension of reality in this story. That was the point, wasn't it? If it made you smile I'd say my work here was not in vain. Thank you so very much for reading and indulging me in my Shenny addiction. As always, may Shenny live forever in the canons of our hearts and minds.**

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

~Happy Endings~

They got into trouble twice on the trip back to California. The first time was because they were making out on the dance floor so suggestively that the manager asked them to leave because they were attracting too much attention. Penny giggled and Sheldon shrugged and they left without protest. The list of places Penny and Sheldon were banished from seemed to be growing exponentially.

Their next encounter with trouble was when Sheldon very loudly questioned the sanitary conditions of the kitchen on the second train they were riding. And while Penny didn't necessary agree with him because she knew how difficult and soul sucking a job in the food service industry could be, she had his back. She had meant it when she told him before that nobody messes with her man. She glared at the waiter who had been rude to Sheldon and as they stood to leave, again being escorted out, she dumped both glasses of their tea onto the table. Then, abiding by the rule of not eating food prepared by people that you have pissed off, they were forced to eat from the vending machines until they switched trains in Portland.

As much as Sheldon loved trains he was incredibly happy when they stepped off the last train and he planted his feet firmly back on the Pasadena soil. Leonard was there waiting for them. They found him in the parking lot, leaning against his car, arms folded across his chest.

"Welcome home Thelma and Louise," he snorted, taking Penny's bag from her and tossing it into the trunk.

"Did you forget our names Leonard? It's Penny and Sheldon," Sheldon said cluelessly, Leonard's sarcasm flying right over his head.

Penny giggled and Leonard rolled his eyes and said, "Some things never change do they?"

Sheldon and Penny argued over who would sit in the front with Leonard until he finally banished them both to the back seat with the stern warning that if they started to make out in his car he'd dump them out on the freeway and they could walk home. They made out anyway, Leonard grumbled and glued his eyes to the road and Penny tried not to moan too loudly when Sheldon tickled her neck with a trail of soft kisses. Because, damn, they were in the backseat with a responsible and safe driver and their hands had to go somewhere and they couldn't have a conversation with Leonard because he was a big 'ole whiney ass. So yeah, they made out and Leonard's only recourse was to turn up the radio extra loud.

**~73~**

It was Saturday and they had a mountain of dirty laundry left over from the trip. Sheldon had wanted to do it the night before they left North Carolina to come home but Penny told him no way in hell were they spending their last night of vacation doing laundry. And after that night they had shared, well, he had to admit she was right. What they did was so much better than laundry. _So much better_.

So now they found themselves in the exact same place they had spent the past six years of Saturday nights…in the laundry room, together. Except this time, Sheldon wasn't quiet as anal about his clothes, okay he was still a little anal, always would be, but just not as bad since his sidekick Jailbird was there to keep him entertained.

"Come over here, Fire Starter," she grinned at him as she sat on top of a washing machine swinging her heels into its metal side and banging out a slow rhythm.

"Penny that is a secret that you are not to repeat to anyone."

He moved towards her and planted his body between her legs, leaning in to scold her and kiss her at the same time.

"And I won't. But do you see anyone in here? Besides, I like your new nickname. Mmmm…Fire Starter…gets me all hot."

"Pun intended I assume?"

"Oh baby," she giggled, reaching for a handful of his shirt and pulling him closer, "pun was so very intended."

They were engaged in a steamy and passion filled embrace when Leonard entered carrying his basket of laundry.

"God, can you two just give it a break? Don't you ever just get tired of each other?"

"No," they both chimed in unison but Sheldon did step away from Penny. There was no need in making Leonard feel too bad.

"So Howard just called. He and Bernadette are coming over later. We're going to order pizza and play video games, maybe watch a movie. You know, just get back into the routine now that we're home. I called Raj and invited him and Amy to come too. You two okay with that?"

"Sounds great. Thanks Leonard," Penny said as she hopped down off the washing machine.

"No…now wait a minute," Sheldon started, "Saturday night is not pizza night. Thursday night is pizza night."

"Sheldon," Leonard sighed, then he turned to Penny and grinned, "Oh yeah, you get to deal with his crazy shit now. See you guys upstairs!"

After Leonard had gone, Penny wrapped her arms around Sheldon and cocked her head up at him.

"Sweetie, you've made lots of changes over the past two weeks. And look it, the world didn't stop, the sky didn't come crashing down. And you have me. Don't you think you can sort of work on maybe loosening up a little on your ridged schedule?"

"No," he huffed, "I absolutely can not. The past two weeks were vacation. It is acceptable to alter routines during vacations and holidays but no more. Penny the rest of the world may not have stopped and come crashing down, but I need order in my world or it may very well come crashing down on me."

"Well, _I'm_ not order. According to you I am chaos and anarchy and all those other big words you said. And you let me in your world."

"Yes. But you are the exception to my every rule. _Only you_."

"Well how about this, I'll fix whatever you want for dinner in my apartment and we'll eat there, but then we are going to go across the hall and play games and watch movies with our friends, okay?"

He smiled softy at her while brushing away the hair that swept across her face, "Fine, we have an accord."

"Thanks sweetie."

"And Penny?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks for, as Leonard just so _eloquently _said, putting up with my shit."

She giggled and popped a kiss on his cheek, "All day long, baby, all day long. Your shit is my shit."

"Just like the hippies we are I suppose."

"Yep, just like that."

**~73~**

"Dude, watch it! Cover me."

"Raj, stop bending over. Throw the grenade!"

Penny, Bernadette and Amy stood at the kitchen island watching their boys engaged in a ferocious Halo battle.

"Sheldon, take your eyes off Penny and shoot. She'll be there when the game is over!"

"You don't worry about me Leonard. My kills are still higher than yours even with just one eye on the game."

Penny and Bernadette scooped blobs of ice cream out and plunked them into six bowls.

"Okay boys," Amy said, turning to face them, "get to a stopping point in the game, the ice cream is ready. Except for you Leonard. With your lactose intolerance I guess you'll have to suck on a fruit pop."

"Great," Leonard mumbled, "yet another way I'm an outsider. You all have girlfriends, you all eat ice cream. Two of the best things on the planet, women and ice cream and I have neither. Nice."

"Hey," Bernadette said as she came over to give Howard his bowl, "I'm no longer a girlfriend. I'm a wife."

"And a beautiful one at that," Howard said, leaning to kiss her cheek and causing Leonard to let out a mournful sigh.

Penny joined them, giving Sheldon his bowl of ice cream and then plopping down beside him on the sofa. He smiled at her and wondered why it had taken them this long to figure out that the cushion beside his had been her spot all along. Now, it was official.

"Here you go sweet brown sugar. Oh, and I brought the alcohol because, you know, I do that now. Who wants Peppermint Schnapps?"

"Mmm, hit me with some Schnapps Amy," Penny said, holding her bowl out. "You want some baby?" she asked Sheldon.

"I believe I'll pass on the drugs tonight Penny. You remember what happened last time I chose to partake in alcohol."

"Oh God," Leonard bellowed from the kitchen, "we all remember. There's no need in anyone reminding us."

"Oh, but Leonard, that was a special night. Sheldon got drunk and sang and played the guitar for us. It was lovely," Raj said.

"Yeah, and then he made sweet loud love to Penny right beside the bonfire," Amy added, turning to wink at Penny. "It was a night to remember."

"Amy!" Penny giggled and then turned to see Sheldon's face go to a bright shade of pink.

"Oh hell Sheldon," Howard yelled at him from the other side of the room, "claim it man. You made us all proud that night. Besides, you got the lady folk warmed up and turned on for us. It was easy going thanks to you."

"Yeah," Raj smiled, holding up a spoonful of Schnapps, "here's to Sheldon!"

"Here, here!" they all said, raising their spoons to Sheldon.

Leonard rejoined them, flopping down in his chair and shaking his head.

"Can we just get back to the game please?"

"I was thinking we could plan our group vacation for next year," Amy said.

"Good idea, Amy," Bernadette laughed, "We can never plan too early. Any ideas?"

"The only idea I have," Raj said, slurping on his spoonful of liquor laced ice cream, "is that we _all _take the train next time."

"No," Sheldon huffed, "the train is mine. And Penny's. It's ours."

"Dude, you can't claim an entire train."

"Sheldon," Penny laughed, "we can share. It'll be fine."

"I don't like to share," he complained before shoving a glob of ice cream in his mouth.

"Well," Leonard said, "if I don't have a girlfriend by then, I'm not going. Because this trip we just go back from? Worst. Vacation. Ever."

"I think you are the only one who feels that way Leonard," Sheldon offered and everyone else nodded in agreement.

"Don't worry, Leonard," Bernadette turned to look at him, "Amy and Penny and I have decided that we are going to find you a good and decent girlfriend. You just sit back and let us do it for you."

"Yeah," Howard added, "And make sure you find one who won't hit on Sheldon when Leonard isn't looking."

Raj and Howard howled with laughter and even Sheldon couldn't hide the grin that played across his face.

"You guys would do that for me?" Leonard asked, ignoring Howard's last comment, touched that they cared.

"Of course they would Leonard," Sheldon said, "We'll do anything to stop your incessant whining."

"Okay, so where are we going?"

"Hawaii!"

"New York!"

"Paris!"

"Geneva, Switzerland to see the Large Hadron Collider!" _This was Sheldon. Duh._

"Myrtle Beach!"

"Vegas, baby!" _Howard, of course._

Sheldon felt Penny's hand glide up his leg stopping to give him a gentle squeeze. He looked down at her and she smiled and mouthed, "I love you."

He grinned at her and nodded, then looked up to watch in amusement as their friends argued about the location of their next trip. So this was going to become an annual trip he supposed. All of them going off together. His life had changed so much because of this group of people. Leonard, pain in the ass that he could be, was still his best friend. And Raj and Howard, while he hadn't really liked them so much in the beginning, he now couldn't imagine them not being in his life. Bernadette was a great addition to the group. And Amy? If he hadn't been with Amy for awhile, he'd have never made it to Penny. Amy was special and he cherished her friendship. He was happy for her and Raj.

He shifted his gaze to Penny, who had released her grip on his leg and was sitting on the edge of the sofa engaged in a very animated discussion concerning the merits of vacationing in the Caribbean. He noted that she kept her body pressed close to his. His love for her took his breath away at times. The impact this woman had on his life was immeasurable. Sure, she'd turned him into a hippie but so what? Hippies, he had learned, weren't so bad after all.

The debate grew louder as the girls raised their voices to be heard. Howard, Raj and Leonard began to hurl their usual insults at one another. He would let them argue about it as long as they wanted. They all knew that in the end, it would be _Sheldon_ who would choose the location and method of transportation. Yeah, they needed him. He was one of them, a part of something so much bigger than himself.

Sheldon supposed it would take a _honeymoon_ for him and Penny to ever get to vacation alone. The thought astonished him and she felt him tremble and turned her eyes to meet his. His face reflected a pink hue and she wondered what he was thinking. And he knew he would tell her later that night exactly what he was thinking. Because this girl who had loved him and made love to him, this girl who had defended him and stood in a jailhouse with him, this girl he shared his secrets with, this girl who had been by his side since the day he'd met her, this girl…this girl that he loved, would be his wife one day.

And he thought that was just…_groovy._


End file.
